New Delhi, May 3 (IANS) Former US National Security Advisor (NSA) John Bolton on Saturday expressed deep concerns over China’s growing influence on Pakistan, especially during the current “delicate situation” in the region following the heinous April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 innocent civilians were gunned down by four terrorists, two of them from Pakistan, after identifying their religion.
“I am concerned about the growing influence that China has over the government of Pakistan, which really is a threat to peace and security in that region. There’s a lot at stake here and I think that the US role should be to cooperate closely with India, as we have in the past on counterterrorism measures, and perhaps cooperate more closely and continue to talk to the government of Pakistan about why this situation needs to come to an acceptable conclusion,” Bolton told IANS in an exclusive interview.
NSA to the US President Donald Trump from 2018-2019, Bolton emphasised that the terror threat has returned to the region following the withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan, thus making sure that Washington remains “very interested” in Af-Pak for “eminently good reasons”.
“Just speaking of Afghanistan, even the Biden administration testified in open Congressional hearings that the return of foreign terrorist fighters to Afghanistan probably meant that ISIS-K by this point could once again mount terrorist attacks around the world. So that terrorist threat unfortunately, since our withdrawal has returned.
“But, of course, the bigger problem is China, which I think continues to pursue a policy of hegemony. All along its Indo-Pacific periphery and in the disputed areas in all along the Line of Actual Control between China and India, but particularly, up near Kashmir. It’s a very delicate situation that we’ve seen a lot of Chinese provocations over the years. I am very worried about increased Chinese influence on Pakistan. I don’t think that’s in the US interest or India’s interest or the interest in peace and security in South Asia yet that continues to happen. Having that in mind, as well as dealing with the threat of terrorist attacks emanating from Pakistani territory, are very important priorities for the United States,” stated Bolton.
The former US Ambassador to the United Nations also targetted China while slamming the current Trump administration for launching a trade war with “every country in the world” instead of dealing strongly with Beijing.
“I think the principal bad actor is China. I think we have all been harmed by Chinese practices like stealing intellectual property and subsidising their companies in competition with ours and not really opening their domestic market as they have promised to do. That is obviously not the way Trump is proceeding, but that is still the biggest problem,” he reckoned.
–IANS
as/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
