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BEIJING: China has refuted a report that it plans to open a consulate in Gilgit-Baltistan, which is part of the disputed ******************-Kashmir. Any move to open a consulate there would mean Beijing's open support for *** and come as manna from heaven to Islamabad.
"What an absurd report! China hasn't even opened a consulate in Lahore," the official Global Times quoted an unnamed source as saying. The report said Lahore is close to the India-Pakistan border, suggesting this as a reason for China not opening a consulate there.
The report has obviously been inspired by the Chinese foreign ministry because it had been active on Friday telling journalists that the "relevant report" is incorrect. "The Pakistani government is known to plant such stories in the media to force China to make its position clear," a source said.
"Opening a consulate in a foreign country is the responsibility of the foreign ministry. We have never heard of a regional official having the right to 'officially inform' another country about such a decision," the state-run paper quoted its source. The government was responding to a report published in the Kashmir Monitor and the EuroAsia Review.
Gilgit-Baltistan is a hotspot because the Nato supply lines to Afghanistan passes through it. It also borders China's restive province of Xinjiang, and the Chinese government goes to great lengths to keep Taliban extremists out of its border. Pakistan has opened the Nato supply lines after keeping it closed for seven months.
In a curious twist, the Global Times quoted a scholar confirming Chinese investment in Gilgit-Baltistan, which India has suspected for a long time.
No plans to open consulate in Azad Kashmir’s Gilgit-Baltistan : China - The Times of India
"What an absurd report! China hasn't even opened a consulate in Lahore," the official Global Times quoted an unnamed source as saying. The report said Lahore is close to the India-Pakistan border, suggesting this as a reason for China not opening a consulate there.
The report has obviously been inspired by the Chinese foreign ministry because it had been active on Friday telling journalists that the "relevant report" is incorrect. "The Pakistani government is known to plant such stories in the media to force China to make its position clear," a source said.
"Opening a consulate in a foreign country is the responsibility of the foreign ministry. We have never heard of a regional official having the right to 'officially inform' another country about such a decision," the state-run paper quoted its source. The government was responding to a report published in the Kashmir Monitor and the EuroAsia Review.
Gilgit-Baltistan is a hotspot because the Nato supply lines to Afghanistan passes through it. It also borders China's restive province of Xinjiang, and the Chinese government goes to great lengths to keep Taliban extremists out of its border. Pakistan has opened the Nato supply lines after keeping it closed for seven months.
In a curious twist, the Global Times quoted a scholar confirming Chinese investment in Gilgit-Baltistan, which India has suspected for a long time.
No plans to open consulate in Azad Kashmir’s Gilgit-Baltistan : China - The Times of India
