M A I N   N E W S

India takes up issue of Chinese funding to PoK
Rajeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 15
While having fruitful discussions with the visiting Chinese Premier, Mr Zhu Rongji, and making significant progress on setting up a joint anti-terrorism mechanism, the Indian leadership has at the same time put forth its reservations on a major irritant: Beijing’s “developmental assistance” to Islamabad for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

This Indian concern has been conveyed to the Chinese side during “free and frank discussions” with Mr Zhu, well-placed sources disclosed to The Tribune today.

During his recent official visit to China, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had finalised an agreement with China on Chinese financial assistance for “developmental projects” in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which includes the Northern Areas.

China is pursuing its long-term strategic and economic interests in offering to Pakistan assistance to develop infrastructure in the PoK as it has set its eyes beyond the PoK: to Central Asia which has massive oil and gas deposits.

Islamabad has its own strategic compulsions in offering China access to the PoK. It is well aware that in the event of a military conflict with India the Indians can block Karachi port which would effectively strangulate its arms supplies as a vast majority of its imports are shipped through Karachi only. India had demonstrated this during the 1971 war.

Pakistan has been getting its arms and ammunition supplies from China through the all-weather Karakoram highway, albeit at a much lower scale than what could come via Karachi. That is why Pakistanis has been keeping China in good humour and this explains Islamabad’s 1963 move of illegally ceding more than 1500 km of the PoK territory to China.

Jaswant to visit China
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 15
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh would visit China by the end of March this year.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs today told reporters that the invitation to Mr Jaswant Singh was extended during talks between him and the visiting Chinese Premier, Mr Zhu Rongji.

Mr Rongji proposed that Mr Jaswant Singh be on board on the inaugural flight of the Eastern Airlines of China between Beijing and New Delhi.