In an interview with the CCP TV, Pakistani PM Imran Khan confirms that the two countries have become “iron brothers.”
by Massimo Introvigne
“Whatever happens in any international forum, Pakistan and China stand together.” These are the literal words of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, in an interview granted on June 29 via Zoom to China Global Television Network (CGTN), China’s government broadcaster. Imran Khan also posted the interview on his Instagram account.
The Prime Minister stated that China always defended Pakistan when it was attacked and criticized, and denounced pressures from the United States and Europe to change the country’s systemic alliance with Beijing. “Whatever will happen, our relationship between the two countries—no matter what pressure is put on us—is not going to change,” he said. He also assured the Chinese television that the population of Pakistan agrees with him and supports China.
Imran Khan’s interview is part of an ongoing process of cooperation and reciprocal support between the two countries, known as the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue. Its last public round was held in the Chinese province of Hainan last year.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at that time described the two countries as “iron brothers.” Pakistan guaranteed to China its support on issues of special concern to Beijing, “such as those related to Taiwan, Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong.” It also promised to support Beijing’s efforts against international accusations about COVID-19. In turn, China promised to defend Pakistan against foreign “interferences,” meaning criticism based on its human rights record.
The alliance between China and Pakistan is of great geopolitical significance. It is also part of a broader strategy where China allies itself with all countries accused of human rights violations throughout the world, giving and receiving support at the United Nations and other international fora.
Massimo Introvigne (born June 14, 1955 in Rome) is an Italian sociologist of religions. He is the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), an international network of scholars who study new religious movements. Introvigne is the author of some 70 books and more than 100 articles in the field of sociology of religion. He was the main author of the Enciclopedia delle religioni in Italia (Encyclopedia of Religions in Italy). He is a member of the editorial board for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion and of the executive board of University of California Press’ Nova Religio. From January 5 to December 31, 2011, he has served as the “Representative on combating racism, xenophobia and discrimination, with a special focus on discrimination against Christians and members of other religions” of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). From 2012 to 2015 he served as chairperson of the Observatory of Religious Liberty, instituted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to monitor problems of religious liberty on a worldwide scale.
