28 June 2011
The Pakistan government’s inability to provide for the security and prosperity of its own people has led to questions about its sovereignty, whether in terms of its monopoly of violence, fiscal solvency, or human security. But rather than asking questions of the Pakistani government, Pakistanis are content with blaming Washington for the country’s ills. Washington wants Pakistan to succeed, even though, admittedly, the United States has...
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Recent Developments in Pakistan-China Relations
21 June 2011
With India ascendant in the global hierarchy and strengthening ties with the US, China is finding that Pakistan is increasingly important in its bid to fend off the joint Indo-US challenge in the region. Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani went to China on a four-day visit last month to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Of course, there is much to celebrate in a bilateral...
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Pakistani PM Hails China as "Best Friend" in Visit to Shanghai, Beijing
17 May 2011
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has arrived in China on a four-day visit to commemorate 60 years of diplomatic ties between the countries. Earlier, he described China as Pakistan's "best friend". Although the visit was planned long ago, correspondents say it is especially timely for Islamabad because of strains with the US over the killing of Osama Bin Laden. China is one of Pakistan's staunchest allies and trading partners. "We appreciate...
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Pakistan Praises China amid US Tensions
10 May 2011
In the thunderous speeches to Pakistan’s parliament about the killing of Osama bin Laden, the Prime Minister’s spirited defence of his administration and the opposition’s fiery attacks, all sides agreed on one point: Pakistan’s new best friend is China. That is the angry message that Pakistani politicians wanted their American allies to hear, at least, when they applauded and banged their desks at every mention of the word...
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Report: China and Pakistan, Emerging Strains in the Entente Cordiale
03 May 2011
Recent reports alleging Chinese military activity in Pakistani-controlled areas of Kashmir call renewed attention to the extraordinary relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Such activities fuel concerns – especially in Washington and New Delhi – that China enjoys unique privileges and exercises inordinate influence in Pakistan. Despite this perception, however, instances of direct...
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Border Clash Threatens Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations
28 April 2011
Despite signs of improvement in diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, border guards from the two countries on Wednesday traded fire in the South Waziristan tribal district. At least 12 Afghan National Army (ANA) troops and one soldier from the Pakistani paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) were killed in the clash that took place in the Angoor Adda area of the district. Three FC troops and eight civilians were also wounded. The border...
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Pakistan Urges Karzai to Drop U.S., Ally with Islamabad, Beijing
27 April 2011
Pakistan is lobbying Afghanistan's president against building a long-term strategic partnership with the U.S., urging him instead to look to Pakistan—and its Chinese ally—for help in striking a peace deal with the Taliban and rebuilding the economy, Afghan officials say. The pitch was made at an April 16 meeting in Kabul by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who bluntly told Afghan President Hamid Karzai that the Americans had...
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Gwadar: Hub of Pakistan's Other Insurgency
08 April 2011
"Miles away from the war on terror being fought in Pakistan's north on the border with Afghanistan is another insurgency whose hub is the port city of Gwadar, located near Iran on the Makran coast. Unlike the battle against the Taliban, this uprising receives little international attention, although it is set against the backdrop of competing superpower interests, reminiscent of the Great Game when Russia and the British empire fought for control...
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06 April 2011
"Pakistan’s ambassador to China used a recent celebration of his country’s Republic Day to give a rhetoric-filled talk about Beijing-Islamabad relations. If March 23, 1940, was the day the Muslim League decided to establish Pakistan, then the anniversary would be a time to declare that relations with China will define the way forward. 'We shall take our bilateral relations to new heights,' Masood Khan proclaimed. [...] Pakistan has been...
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China Committed to Pakistan's Nuclear Plant Expansion
24 March 2011
"China is committed to controversial plans to expand a Pakistan nuclear power plant using 1970s technology, experts say, even after Japan's crisis triggered global alarm about atomic safety. [...] But neither Beijing nor Islamabad is likely to cut short their nuclear embrace. China's nuclear ties with long-standing partner Pakistan have triggered unease in Washington, Delhi and other capitals worried about Pakistan's history of spreading nuclear...
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