Though the veracity of report published in a newspaper on October 26 seems doubtful, yet in my view if the Chinese government has sought to establish its military base in areas along the Pakistan-China border, Islamabad should consider it prudently. I am not in favour of giving the motherland’s even an inch to either friends or allies, but since this pace of tradition has already been set by the Musharraf regime, and far from it during the Zia period – the Americans have fought the Afghan war from Pakistan’s soil – it is now not easy to expel them from Shamsi or Shahbaz airbase, and according to unconfirmed reports their latest demands include handing over of Gawadar and some more Balochistan areas, which means the Kissinger-prophesy is coming true.
Why one is in favour of involving Chinese in the affairs is because the Chinese have their investment in mega projects and it is their stake that demands to safeguard their interests vis a vis Pakistan. By the way, this business of making party to the stakes, giving them opportunity to use our soil for safeguarding their own interests, has cost us very dearly. Of late a war of Sunni-Shia factions started here at the behest of probably Saudis and Iranians, their agents used our people, our resources and our soil and in return we earned only bad name. Pledging or vowing one’s territory to others is always not a good bargain. However, the enemy has to face a bigger enemy, but the equally grown up titans would then compromise with each other and stop fighting.
FOZIA SALEEM NIAZI
Islamabad
