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Musharraf wants Pakistan to be China’s corridor

* Says Chinese involvement integral for country’s development
* Reiterates killing of Chinese would not harm Sino-Pak ties

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan wants to act as a trade corridor for Chinese exports to the rest of the world and is also interested in setting up an energy corridor for China, if it is technically feasible, said President Pervez Musharraf.

Speaking to a group of Chinese journalists, he said China was helping Pakistan with several development projects that were integral for the country’s progress. The development projects would sustain economic activity in the country, alleviate poverty, end unemployment and help fight extremism, he said. He said Pakistan would be extremely happy if the Chinese came into the country for joint ventures, trade and investment.

Talking about the deaths of three Chinese engineers, who were murdered in Hub, he said, “They targeted them to sabotage Pakistan’s progress and drive a wedge between the two countries.” President Musharraf, who will be leaving on a five-day visit to China from February 19, said the incident had soured the mood of his visit, but was confident that such elements would never succeed in their designs, ie create a rift between Pakistan and China. “Our strong friendship with China will not be affected and we will be able to suppress these elements,” he said.

The president said Pakistan would increase its collaboration with China in the war against terror, adding that the two countries were already sharing intelligence.

He said that extremism and terrorism were complex issues and needed to be tackled delicately. “We can curb terrorism with the use of force, but not extremism,” he said.

Talking about economic cooperation with China, he said that several projects, including the expansion of the Gwadar dam project and the Chashma II nuclear power project, had been undertaken with China’s help. He hoped that during his visit, “we will broaden our cooperation and reach agreements which will be beneficial for our relations with China.” He said that he looked forward to broad-based discussion on all political, commercial ties, defence and nuclear aspects with the Chinese leadership.

Musharraf said that China was assisting Pakistan with development projects in the fields of communications, nuclear energy, defence production and defence training, health and education. President Musharraf also told the Chinese journalists about the improvement of road links with China to allow for larger vehicles with heavier payloads to pass through the Karakoram Highway. He also said that China and Pakistan would cooperate in the sphere of higher education, adding that Pakistan looked forward to Chinese assistance in improving the local faculty and PhD programmes. app

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