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China fully behind Pakistan in "potentially volatile situation" http://sg.news.yahoo.com/020104/1/296ka.html Pakistan said that China stood 100 percent behind Islamabad as it faced a "potentially volatile situation" with India. Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji met with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for three hours Thursday in Beijing and assured him of China's "principled and everlasting support" for Islamabad, said a Pakistani official statement. "China considers Pakistan its very reliable and close friend and will always stand by Pakistan," said the statement, released after Musharraf arrived Friday in Nepal for a South Asian summit also attended by Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. It said Zhu "expressed his apprehension at the potentially volatile situation that has arisen due to the assembling of Indian forces close to the Pakistani border" and "appreciated the restraint exercised by Pakistan." Pakistani spokesman Rashid Qureshi later said that "China stood by Pakistan and still stands by Pakistan. It will support Pakistan in all eventuality." The statement added Zhu "complimented President Musharraf for his diplomatic vision, leadership and quality of statemanship that he has demonstrated in the handling of the current crisis" and "in a gesture of extreme warmth embraced Musharraf" as he left Beijing. The Pakistani leader held a day of talks in Beijing before heading to Kathmandu, after India barred Pakistani airplanes from its airspace. Poor weather conditions in China delayed Musharraf by several hours Friday, which meant that the summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was postponed for a day until Saturday. Musharraf's delay also prompted the cancellation of a Saturday retreat near Mount Everest that would have been the most likely venue for a meeting between Vajpayee and Musharraf away from the media. Vajpayee has publicly ruled out a two-way summit with Musharraf in Kathmandu, insisting that Pakistan must first crack down harder on Islamic militant groups which India blames for a December 13 attack on the parliament in New Delhi. The two countries have since been building up forces along their common border and exchanging fire in the hotly disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. China is Pakistan's key ally and Musharraf has visited Beijing twice in as many months. ___________________ Copyright 2001 AFP. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2002 Yahoo! Inc. All Rights Reserved http://www.yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send your FREE holiday greetings online! http://greetings.yahoo.com ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
