11.8 C
Athens
Σάββατο, 23 Νοεμβρίου, 2024

Pakistan’s balancing act between West and China is quite dubious: Report

Περισσότερα Νέα

- Advertisement -

Pakistan’s balancing act between the West and China has been quite dubious, with the country giving assurance to both sides of commitment to their respective interests in the region.

But for how long will Pakistan continue to fool the West and China – it is a question that policymakers in Washington and Beijing must ask themselves, reported South Asia Press.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif landed in China on Tuesday for a two-day official visit at the country’s Premier Li Keqiang’s invitation. This is his first trip to the neighbouring country since assuming office in April this year.

The country’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, among other Pakistani officials are part of the delegation accompanying the PM.

At a time of drastic global geopolitical realignments, Sharif’s visit to China is being closely watched by the West, due to Islamabad’s commitment to different international economic institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, from whom Pakistan is seeking financial assistance and which view China as an exploitative power, reported South Asia Press.

- Advertisement -

Ahead of his departure, Sharif posted on the social media site Twitter saying, “Honored to be among the first few leaders to have been invited after the historic 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. At a time when the world is grappling with multiple challenges, Pakistan and China stand together as friends and partners.”

The prime minister further said in his tweet that discussions with the Chinese leadership would focus on the “revitalisation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) among many other things.”

However, it is well-known that the Chinese economic ambitions are expansionist. As records show, strategic infrastructure projects are taken up globally in an attempt to set up major debt traps for countries. Chinese financial assistance in the form of “easy loans” have already destabilized countries like Sri Lanka, Laos and Mongolia, reported South Asia Press.

Moreover, Pakistan appears to push ahead with making financial and economic deals with China that are neither transparent nor do they seem to benefit the country.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), launched in April 2015 was supposed to turn around Pakistan’s economy. Despite all such rhetoric in public from the leadership in both countries that it will lift ordinary Pakistanis from poverty, the CPEC is yet to deliver on its promises.

Experts say that Chinese projects are benefiting only a handful of the elite of the country, and this perception further took root when Imran Khan, the cricketer-turned-politician came to power.

Khan had already questioned the transparency of the CPEC, and once in power, he created a CPEC Authority, which added a bureaucratic layer, slowing down the CPEC projects further, reported South Asia Press.

On the other hand, in recent years, Islamabad’s relationship with the West, primarily with Washington, has also been under pressure, especially since the US withdrew from Afghanistan last year.

This relationship worsened even further since the downfall of Imran Khan’s government this year, as he accused the US of orchestrating his ouster from power, reported South Asia Press.

- Advertisement -

ΑΠΑΝΤΗΣΤΕ

εισάγετε το σχόλιό σας!
παρακαλώ εισάγετε το όνομά σας εδώ

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Ροή ειδήσεων

ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Fatwa against VPNs: A threat to digital freedom in Pakistan

In a rapidly evolving digital world, where technology is increasingly integrated into every aspect of our lives, the internet is often viewed as a...

Strikes and protests increase in China due to unpaid wages and factory closures

Strikes and protests by labourers and industry workers have seen arise in China where such incidences are strictly forbidden. The majority of the protests...

Pakistan: HRCP demands reversal of Anti-Terrorism Act amendment proposal, warns of threats to democracy

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) concluded its 38th Annual General Meeting with a stern call for urgent action to address Pakistan’s worsening...

China’s space ambitions face ‘huge test’ from Musk presence in Trump White House

Tech mogul Elon Musk's potential weight in the second Donald Trump administration is likely to accelerate the US space programme and pose a "huge test" to China's extraterrestrial...

ΔΗΜΟΦΙΛΗ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Φέτβα κατά των VPN: Μια απειλή για την ψηφιακή ελευθερία στο Πακιστάν

Σε έναν ταχέως εξελισσόμενο ψηφιακό κόσμο, όπου η τεχνολογία ενσωματώνεται ολοένα και περισσότερο σε κάθε πτυχή της ζωής μας, το Διαδίκτυο θεωρείται συχνά ως...

Fatwa against VPNs: A threat to digital freedom in Pakistan

In a rapidly evolving digital world, where technology is increasingly integrated into every aspect of our lives, the internet is often viewed as a...

Σε κίνδυνο τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα στο Πακιστάν

Η Επιτροπή Ανθρωπίνων Δικαιωμάτων του Πακιστάν (HRCP) ολοκλήρωσε την 38η Ετήσια Γενική Συνέλευση με μια αυστηρή έκκληση για επείγουσα δράση για την αντιμετώπιση της...

Οι απεργίες και οι διαδηλώσεις αυξάνονται στην Κίνα λόγω των απλήρωτων μισθών και του κλεισίματος των εργοστασίων

Απεργίες και διαμαρτυρίες από εργάτες και εργάτες της βιομηχανίας έχουν εμφανιστεί στην Κίνα όπου τέτοια περιστατικά απαγορεύονται αυστηρά. Η πλειονότητα των διαμαρτυριών διεξήχθη πριν...