Pak FM to hold talks with Chinese counterpart

[1]

Pakistan foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who arrived here on Tuesday night, will be holding talks with her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi on Wednesday on a host of issues including bilateral, regional and international.

On her arrival here, 34-year-old Khar told media China and Pakistan have strong bonds of multifaceted friendship between covering all areas including defence, economic and trade relations. "We have strategic and robust relations with China," she said.

The relations between the two countries can not be bracketed with other countries, Khar said. 34-year-old Khar will also wind up her China visit on Wednesday, Pakistani officials said.

Also the "relationship strongly exists among peoples and governments of two countries and now we want to commensurate these ties with trade, economic and investment cooperation".

China is one of the countries with which Pakistan has signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and both the sides could get benefits from FTA, she said.

Her visit comes ahead of proposed visit of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to take part in as trade fair at Xinjiang in the coming weeks.

Also this is the first visit by any Pakistani minister after China in an unusual move on Aug 1 blamed terror camps in Pakistan for training militants of the separatist East Turikistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), who took part in the two day attacks last month at Kashghar in Xinjiang.

Twenty two people mostly from the mainland Chinese Han community were killed in the attacks. Xinjiang has been witnessing periodic tensions after 2009 riots by Uyghurs resting the Han settlements.

Over 200 people were killed and several hundreds injured at that time. Subsequent reports after Kashghar attacks ISI Chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha visited Beijing around the same time to discuss steps address Chinese concerns.

The allegation came as a surprise as it was for the first time that China every openly blamed terror camps in Pakistan, considering the close and strategic relations between the two.

Subsequently Pakistan had proposed 'integrated border management' which was expected to figure in Khar's talks with Chinese leaders.

Xinjiang, borders PoK and Pakistan wants establishment of special economic zone to develop the area.

Pakistan Ambassador Masood Khan told a seminar here few days ago "Pakistan's regions of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are keen to participate in the development of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Kashgar", being proposed by China.