Lahore: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan wants to repair ties with the US but not at the cost of its ties with China as no other country could do what Beijing was doing for his cash-strapped country.
The 72-year-old Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader made these remarks during a meeting with a group of journalists who had recently returned from an official visit to China at his Model Town residence here, according to the Dawn newspaper.
Sharif said that work was progressing fast in the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and also informed that during the recent visit of Chinese experts to Pakistan, there was positive movement in the promotion of cooperation in different fields.
Asked about the Pakistan-US relations, the prime minister said that the country needed to repair its relations with Washington as that was in its best interests but it shouldn’t be at the expense of China.
“I think our relations with the US must be repaired, as it is very necessary for Pakistan…But it shouldn’t be at the cost of China… and I had told (the Americans) recently in the presence of various dignitaries, including Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar,” Sharif was quoted as saying.
“I also told them that similarly, the friendship with China is not at the cost of the US, as both have significance for us,” he clarified.
Ties between the two countries soured after jailed former prime minister Imran Khan openly accused the US of orchestrating his downfall after he was removed through a vote of no-confidence in April 2022.
Prime Minister Sharif said he believed that whatever China was helping Pakistan accomplish, the US cannot do.
Sharif also spoke about his letter to Beijing requesting a debt re-profiling and said that if China agreed to give Pakistan five to seven years to pay back the loans, the government would be able to bring down inflation, including electricity prices, the Dawn reported.
The premier said their request is under consideration and he is hoping for a positive response from China.
He also expressed his concern about the safety and security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan and assured that the government would use all its resources to ensure their well-being.
In March, five Chinese nationals were among six people killed when an explosives-packed vehicle rammed into their bus in Pakistan’s troubled province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It was the second suicide attack on the personnel working on the China-backed hydropower project since 2021.
The Chinese were working on the Dasu hydropower project, which is about 300 km to the north of Islamabad. The 4,320 MW project is being constructed by the China Gezhouba with funding from the World Bank.
Thousands of Chinese personnel are working in Pakistan on several projects being carried out under the aegis of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
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