ISLAMABAD – Accusing Beijing of being jealous of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Islamabad has reacted strongly to the statement issued by the leaders of the five emerging market BRICS, wherein groups like the Haqqani Network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Taliban and Jaish-e-Muhammad, were called a ‘regional security concern’.
In a counterstatement issued on Wednesday, the Foreign Office of Pakistan said that like other states in the region, Beijing is envious of the $62 billion project that CPEC is.
“Maybe they just want to join CPEC, and are now throwing tantrums out of envy,” read the Foreign Office statement.
BRICS states that also include Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa, have been accused of listening to India.
“It is suspicious that BRICS is saying things that New Delhi would normally say,” Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said while talking to The Dependent. “I mean what has BRICS got to do with New Delhi?” he asked.
The BRICS statement that does not mention where these groups are situated has further been accused of singling out groups based in Pakistan.
“If Beijing continues to act like this, we will have to ask China to intervene at the UN and prevent any action against the groups mentioned,” said Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan. “Maybe these BRICS don’t know that we have a growing arms deal with Moscow.