ISLAMABAD, June 17 – Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the foreign ministry to remain in regular contact with the Chinese counterparts for on the spot diplomatic assistance regarding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that PM wants CPEC projects to be completed on time without any hindrance.
He said under the PM’s directives, the foreign ministry was providing all diplomatic support to the Chinese counterparts for the smooth sailing of the mega CPEC plan.
“There were previously visa (duration) issues which have been resolved recently. Now CPEC related officials are being provided with long-term visas to facilitate their working,” he said.
“Pakistan is ready to solve any diplomatic issue which comes across. Basically, we are friendly countries and have no differences. The rare issues that surface are minor in nature and are related to working rather than policies,” he explained.
FM said he remains in regular contact with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and they keep updating each other. “We are always on the same page. We work as brothers and partners,” he added.
Earlier, it was disclosed at a top-level meeting on Tuesday that Chinese officials working on CPEC were being granted visas on a daily basis.
The meeting was apprised that with the “complete redressal” of visa issues for Chinese officials coming to Pakistan under CPEC. The Ministry of Interior deals with “new cases on daily basis” which was “positively impacting” the pace of work on the CPEC projects.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the Chinese citizens would now be issued two-year work visas within 48 hours from the respective missions, adding that a separate visa category had been created for Chinese citizens related to CPEC projects. He said that the government has ordered special desks to facilitate Chinese citizens at the airports.
“The PM took special interest on the visas issue and directed us to resolve the matter as soon as possible. Now there is no issue of visas for the CPEC related officials of China,” the Interior Minister said.
To a question, Ahmed said the Chinese nationals were being provided adequate security so that they can concentrate on their jobs. “The completion of CPEC is in our own interest. PM has already issued directives to expedite the work on CPEC projects. We are taking all steps to facilitate the process (of working on the CPEC projects),” he added.
