China seeks stepping up of anti-terrorism cooperation with Pak

Beijing: Battling militancy in Xinjiang, President Xi Jinping today said China wants to step up security cooperation with Pakistan to combat terrorism.

Xi said China is willing to enhance security cooperation with Pakistan and work with Islamabad to combat the three evil forces of separatism, extremism and terrorism. In his meeting with Pakistan`s Senate Chairman Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari here, Xi also said "China and Pakistan are all-weather and all-round strategic partners" which highlighted the high degree of trust between the two countries and close communication on many major issues. "The Chinese side sincerely hopes that Pakistan will achieve stability and development," state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying. China`s interest to step up cooperation to combat terrorism with Pakistan comes in the backdrop of increased attacks by militants in Xinjiang, which is simmering due to resentment by native Muslim Uygurs over increased settlements of Han Chinese from other provinces. Xinjiang borders Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), Afghanistan as well as some central Asian states. Chinese officials allege that the recent numerous knife attacks both in Xinjiang and other parts of China were carried by al Qaeda-backed East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which is fighting for the separation of Xinjiang from China. ETIM reportedly released a new video in which it owned the recent attack at the railway station in Urumqi, the provincial capital of Xinjiang in which three persons, including two militants were killed and over 70 others injured. Asked for her comments on the video - that reportedly showed someone assembling the bomb used in the attack, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing extremist forces are trying to create violence in Xinjiang and other parts of China to disrupt social stability. During the meeting, Bukhari condemned the terrorist attack and said that Pakistan will boost anti-terrorism cooperation with the Chinese side. Bukhari also pledged that the Pakistani side will take effective measures to ensure Chinese companies and citizens` safety in Pakistan, the report said. Xi said the Chinese and Pakistani people feel intimate with each other naturally and the China-Pakistan relationship is a good example of state-to-state relationships. Lauding the "time-tested friendship" between the two nations, Bukhari said the important proposal raised by the Chinese side on the Silk Road economic belt and the 21st- century maritime Silk Road provides new opportunities for Pakistan and other countries along the two roads.