ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Taking notice of the uncalled for, unwarranted and unprecedented statement of the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Ambassador Alice Wells on November 21, 2019 regarding CPEC and Pakistan-China relations, the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution rejecting her statement outright as an unacceptable interference in Pakistan’s sovereign right to exercise policy choices that best protect and promote its national interests.
Related Link: PTI Cabinet, Ambassador Alice Wells and CPEC
The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee which met under the Chairmanship of Mushahid Hussain Syed in Islamabad stated that it feels that casting aspersions, promoting fiction and presenting a biased perspective on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is already a success story, only shows the extent to which certain quarters can go in their obsession of ‘countering’ China.
The Committee strongly urged the government of Pakistan to make it clear in unequivocal terms that Pakistan will not tolerate any dictation from any Country that seeks to undermine the time-tested Pakistan-China relations, which are not only a factor for stability in the region but also are a pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy.
The Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also attended the meeting and briefed the Senators on the situation in Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K) and efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to highlight the atrocities committed by Indian forces on international forums.