ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari, who leaves for China tomorrow (Thursday), might ask the Chinese leadership to block India’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC) in the wake of US decision to support New Delhi in this regard.
Zardari will embark on a three-day visit to China to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the 16th Asian Games. He will also meet Chinese President Hu Jintao and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.
“The important issue that will be discussed during the president’s meetings with the Chinese leaders is India’s candidature for the UNSC permanent membership and US President Barack Obama’s recent announcement that his country will back New Delhi in this regard,” an official of the Foreign Office said on Tuesday.
He said the president would urge the Chinese leadership, which already has reservations over India’s bid for a UNSC permanent seat, to block any such move owing to Pakistan’s principled stance. He said the Pakistani leadership was aware of the fact that the US president decision of backing India for a permanent UNSC seat had not only disappointed Pakistan but raised concerns in China as well so the two friendly states could opt for a joint strategy on the vital issue.
“We have concerns over President Obama’s support for India’s permanent membership in the UNSC but we know that the Chinese also feel that it could be a US attempt to counter their country,” he said. Another Pakistani official said the second main agenda item of the president’s visit to China was that of cooperation in civilian nuclear energy between the old friendly states.
“The Americans are in no mood to help out Pakistan as for its fast growing energy requirements and especially any nuclear deal between Washington and Islamabad so naturally we have to turn towards China fore more cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear energy,” he said.
He said the Chinese had already indicated that they would help Pakistan build new nuclear power reactors and during Zardari’s visit, plan for that would also be discussed in detail. Asked about the US opposition to China’s plan to build new reactors in Pakistan, the official said Pakistan had the ongoing civil nuclear cooperation with China in accordance with its international obligations and the IAEA safeguards so any opposition to that was misplaced.
