Don’t endorse the Indian viewpoint on CPEC: Pak to US

File photo of former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif with Chinese President Xi Jinping

New Delhi: Pakistan has reportedly urged the US not to look at the CPEC from the Indian perspective, saying that the project is “not a conspiracy against anyone” but an economic plan to bring peace and stability to the region.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal's remarks came after US Defence Secretary James Mattis last week said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project passes through a disputed territory.

 Iqbal urged the Trump administration to deal with Islamabad on its own merit.

“CPEC is not a conspiracy against anyone. It is not a security plan. It’s a plan for economic prosperity, which is bringing investment in the energy, infrastructure and other key sectors,” the Dawn quoted Iqbal as saying.

“The US should not look at CPEC from the Indian perspective, but as a source of peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

“CPEC can bring the much-needed stability to a region that has suffered from war for the last several decades,” he said during a session at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.

Mattis' comments were seen in Islamabad as a direct endorsement of India’s position on the project, which passes through the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.