{"id":1431514,"date":"2022-04-11T17:00:10","date_gmt":"2022-04-11T21:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1431514"},"modified":"2022-04-11T17:00:14","modified_gmt":"2022-04-11T21:00:14","slug":"china-says-ties-with-pakistan-remain-friendly-after-pm-imran-khan-ousted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-says-ties-with-pakistan-remain-friendly-after-pm-imran-khan-ousted\/","title":{"rendered":"China Says Ties with Pakistan Remain \u2018Friendly&#039; After PM Imran Khan Ousted"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchina-says-ties-with-pakistan-remain-friendly-after-pm-imran-khan-ousted%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1431514&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">Chinese state media outlets insisted on Sunday that the ouster of radical Islamist Prime Minister Imran Khan in neighboring Pakistan\u00a0\u2014 a close friend and ally of the Communist Party \u2014 would have no effect on bilateral ties.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<em>Global Times<\/em> speculated that diplomacy between China and Pakistan may become \u201ceven better\u201d under successor Shehbaz Sharif, the brother of the prime minister before Khan, Nawaz Sharif. The Pakistani Parliament formally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/national-security\/2022\/04\/11\/brother-of-imran-khans-predecessor-elected-pakistan-prime-minister\/\">elected<\/a> the younger Sharif to be the nation\u2019s head of government on Monday after using a no-confidence vote to remove Imran Khan on Sunday.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>Khan used his time in power, which began in 2018, to bring Islamabad deep into China\u2019s orbit, green-lighting heavy Chinese investment in the country through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China\u2019s program to offer poor countries predatory loans they then use to pay China to build roads, ports, railways, and other infrastructure projects. Despite being an outspoken Islamist who used his platform at the United Nations to call for global laws against blasphemy, Khan also supported China\u2019s genocide of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in occupied East Turkistan, a region that borders Pakistan.<\/p>\n<p>The Chinese Foreign Ministry offered muted comments in response to Khan\u2019s abrupt removal from power during a regular press conference on Monday.<\/p>\n<p><span data-index=\"\">\u201cAs a close neighbor and an iron-clad friend of Pakistan, China sincerely hopes that all parties of Pakistan can stay united and jointly defend national stability and development,\u201d Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fmprc.gov.cn\/mfa_eng\/xwfw_665399\/s2510_665401\/2511_665403\/202204\/t20220411_10666750.html\">told<\/a> reporters. \u201cI want to stress that no matter how the political situation may change in Pakistan, China will unswervingly follow the Pakistan policy of friendship. We believe the political change in Pakistan will not affect the overall China-Pakistan relations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>The\u00a0<em>Global Times<\/em> newspaper, a state-run propaganda outlet, much more enthusiastically made the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globaltimes.cn\/page\/202204\/1258958.shtml\">case<\/a> that Pakistan would continue to be a close ally and dependent of China even without Khan, even in light of Shehbaz Sharif recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samaaenglish.tv\/news\/2022\/04\/beggars-cant-be-choosers-shehbaz-sharif-geo-news-interview\/\">calling<\/a> for his country to cease antagonizing America because \u201cbeggars can\u2019t be choosers.\u201d The\u00a0<em>Times<\/em> noted that the Sharif family, which under Nawaz faced widespread accusations of corruption, expressed as much interest in the BRI as Khan, even without taking on the now-former prime minister\u2019s belligerent attitude towards America.<\/p>\n<p><span data-index=\"\">\u201cThe potential successor of Khan is from the Sharif family which has been promoting China-Pakistan ties for a long time, and cooperation between the two countries could be even better than under Khan,\u201d the\u00a0<em>Times<\/em> observed on Sunday, before Shehbaz Sharif formally became prime minister.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-index=\"\">The\u00a0<em>Times<\/em> insisted that any concerns with Khan\u2019s leadership that led to the no-confidence vote were \u201c<\/span><span data-index=\"\">mainly brought by the [Chinese coronavirus] pandemic\u201d and other domestic issues irrelevant to Khan\u2019s foreign policy. The state outlet did not appear to see any reason for Pakistanis to blame China for the pandemic that its mismanagement caused.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In an apparent opposing take from Sharif\u2019s opinion expressed this month that Pakistan is too economically vulnerable to alienate itself from America, the\u00a0<em>Global Times<\/em>, citing Chinese regime-approved \u201cexperts,\u201d insisted that the country\u2019s economic turmoil made it impossible to divorce from Beijing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis means China is the most reliable, trustworthy, powerful and irreplaceable partner for the country, said analysts,\u201d according to the newspaper.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cExperts from both China and Pakistan are confident in the future of the China-Pakistan ties, as they believe the new government will continue to uphold the country\u2019s long-standing tradition to make sure the friendship with China and all China-Pakistan cooperation projects will be unaffected,\u201d the outlet insisted. \u201cIn general, current internal problems in Pakistan have nothing to do with its solid ties with China, so there will not be a significant impact on China-Pakistan cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a separate editorial, the\u00a0<em>Global Times<\/em>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.globaltimes.cn\/page\/202204\/1258951.shtml\">suggested<\/a>\u00a0the United States was to blame for Khan\u2019s removal \u2014 an accusation that Khan himself first made. The\u00a0<em>Times<\/em> quoted\u00a0an alleged \u201cresearch fellow\u201d as saying, \u201cwhen the US is unsatisfied with a certain government, it will rope in the oppositions offering promises or money \u2013 using these coup-like measures to incite the opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>The <em>Times<\/em> then claimed that America would not benefit from Pakistan naming a new prime minister, \u201cChinese scholars argue that even if the US was playing tricks from behind the scene, it cannot sow discord between China and Pakistan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet another \u201cexpert\u201d told the newspaper, \u201cno matter which party is in power in Pakistan in the future, it should not be labeled as pro-US. \u201d<\/p>\n<p>Khan\u2019s road out of the prime minister\u2019s seat follows months of attempted rallies against his rule that faced coronavirus social distancing guidelines and other government challenges. The coalition supporting the Sharif family first attempted to organize a no-confidence vote against Khan in March, but the prime minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/asia\/2022\/04\/04\/pakistan-islamist-pm-imran-khan-stops-no-confidence-vote-dissolving-parliament\/\">used<\/a> his power to dissolve parliament, stopping the vote and saving his position until the nation\u2019s Supreme Court overturned his move, leading to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2022\/04\/09\/pakistan-prime-minister-imran-khan-ousted-by-no-confidence-vote\/\">this weekend<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Prior to the vote of no confidence, Khan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1682150\/pm-unveils-foreign-plot-against-his-govt\">claimed<\/a> that America had set in motion a sinister plot to remove him from power. He cited an alleged letter sent from the U.S. State Department to Islamabad in which Washington \u201cthreatened\u201d to force Khan\u2019s ouster as evidence of foreign interference in the country\u2019s government. When Sharif, as the newly elected prime minister, offered to investigate the contents of the letter on Monday, Khan\u2019s PTI political party angrily <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1684509\/cablegate-pti-rejects-pm-shehbazs-offer-to-probe-us-envoys-correspondence\">refused<\/a> the offer.<\/p>\n<p>Khan\u2019s tenure as prime minister was largely defined by a push for global Islamic law, particularly the implementation of blasphemy laws so that any sentiment that offends Muslims could be prosecuted anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMuslims continue to be targeted with impunity in many countries. Our shrines are being destroyed; our Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) insulted; the Holy Quran burnt \u2014 and all this in the name of freedom of speech,\u201d Khan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/faith\/2020\/12\/04\/un-general-assembly-adopts-pakistani-anti-blasphemy-resolution\/\">said<\/a> during his 2020 address to the United Nations General Assembly, calling for global punishments. \u201cIncidents in Europe, including republication of blasphemous sketches by Charlie Hebdo, are recent examples [<em>sic<\/em>].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The U.N. General Assembly passed an anti-\u201cIslamophobia\u201d resolution shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n<p>A year later, Khan called for every Muslim-majority country to impose trade embargos on Western countries until they adopted Islamic anti-blasphemy laws.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want the Muslim countries to devise a joint line of action over the blasphemy issue with a warning of trade boycott of countries where such incidents will happen,\u201d Khan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/national-security\/2021\/04\/28\/pakistan-pm-urges-muslim-nation-trade-boycotts-force-west-adopt-blasphemy-laws\/\">announced<\/a>. \u201cThis will be the most effective way to achieve the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As prime minister, Khan did not have the same passion for opposing the genocide of Muslim people that he had for opposing verbal remarks against Islam. As recently as this February, Khan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/asia\/2022\/02\/09\/islamist-pakistani-pm-imran-khan-defends-chinas-uyghur-genocide\/\">endorsed<\/a> China\u2019s genocide of the Uyghur people happening on the other side of his country\u2019s border during a meeting with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause of our extreme proximity and relationship with China, we actually accept the Chinese version,\u201d Khan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/asia\/2021\/07\/01\/islamist-pakistan-defends-chinas-muslim-genocide\/\">said<\/a> of the Uyghur genocide in July. \u201cThere are much worse human rights violations taking place in other parts of the world such as in occupied Kashmir. But Western media hardly comments on this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kashmir, a region disputed by Pakistan, China, and India, is the scene of consistent violence, but is not currently undergoing anything that international scholars would consider genocide.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Frances Martel on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/francesimartel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/francesimartel\/&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1649767167560000&#038;usg=AOvVaw3rbnC08FjOcPT_hOd2u8h5\">Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/francesmartel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/twitter.com\/francesmartel&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1649767167560000&#038;usg=AOvVaw29eMJmL6xeLuvpNTZcl2Q_\">Twitter.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chinese state media outlets insisted on Sunday that the ouster of radical Islamist Prime Minister Imran Khan in neighboring Pakistan\u00a0\u2014 a close friend and ally of the Communist Party \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1431514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1431514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1431514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1431514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1431514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1431514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1431514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}