Pakistan Foreign Office calls Chinese envoy's statement on terror activities "surprising"
Oct 31, 2024
Islamabad [Pakistan], October 31 : Pakistan's Foreign Office on Thursday described Chinese Ambassador's statement as surprising and not reflective of the diplomatic traditions between Pakistan and China, as reported by ARY News.
During a press briefing, the Spokesperson of Pakistan's Foreign Office, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said, "We are tightening protocol of the visit of an ambassador or group of ambassadors' visits to another city," ARY News reported.
Baloch emphasized that the foreign ambassadors were guests of Pakistan and that the government was committed to providing them with comprehensive security, as reported by ARY News.
Earlier, on Wednesday, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong urged that the government should launch a crackdown against all anti-China terrorist groups following two deadly attacks in Pakistan within just six months, The Express Tribune reported.
The terrorists have twice targeted Chinese nationals in the past six months, first in March and then again in October, just 10 days before the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pakistan.Speaking at a seminar titled 'China at 75', Ambassador Jiang emphasised that these attacks were "unacceptable" and stressed the need for enhanced security measures.
"It is very unacceptable for us to be attacked twice in only six months and these attacks have also caused causalities," Ambassador Jiang said.
He added that Beijing hoped that the Pakistani side could further strengthen the security measures to protect Chinese personnel, institutions and projects.
Further, Jiang highlighted that security was the biggest constraint to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and "without safe and sound environment, nothing can be achieved."
The ambassador's remarks came during a seminar organised by the Pakistan China Institute, where Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also spoke, as per The Express Tribune.
"Pakistan should severely punish the perpetrators and crack down on all anti-China terrorist groups," said the ambassador, adding, "Security is the biggest concern for China and a constraint to CPEC in Pakistan."
