ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal Thursday said that Pakistan has established a strong force of 10,000 personnel for the protection of Chinese citizens but India, which has undue apprehensions over China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), might be involved in the recent killing of Chinese national in Karachi.
In an interview with BBC, the minister said Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has already been convicted on charges of espionage, has also admitted that an Indian spy network is working to sabotage the CPEC.
The Chinese national was killed earlier this week when unidentified attackers opened fire on his vehicle in apparently a ‘targeted attack’.
The minister said such incidents would not weaken friendship between Pakistan and China.
To a question regarding allegations of terrorist safe havens in Pakistan, the minister quoted US as having said that 45 percent of Afghan territory was under control of militants. “Why would they need to have sanctuaries in Pakistan then?”
Ahsan Iqbal said the US administration had hinted that economic aid to Pakistan won’t be stopped. He said that different lobbies were working in US and each one of those wanted to introduce bills of its own choice in the Congress.
“The geography of Pakistan and Afghanistan is same. Pakistan is the only supportive country for United States in its peace efforts in Afghanistan,” the minister said, as he rejected Afghan claim that the ‘terrorists’ handed over by Pakistan were not Taliban but ordinary refugees.
About protest by the Mehsud tribe in Islamabad, Ahsan Iqbal said despite being out of country, he spoke with the protesting people and assured them that Rao Anwar would be arrested. He said it was wrong to say that Rao Anwar was being given protection by any state institution or politicians.
Published in Daily Times, February 9th 2018.
.jpg)
