Protest holds up Xi’s Pakistan trip
Print Edition
PAKISTAN’S foreign ministry said yesterday that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first visit to the country has been postponed due to the mass anti-government demonstrations shaking its capital, Islamabad.
Thousands of protesters, led by opposition politician Imran Khan and cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, have been staging sit-ins outside parliament for weeks, demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif step down over allegations of fraud in last year’s election.
Yesterday, the foreign ministry said Beijing and Islamabad “mutually agreed” to postpone the visit, which was scheduled to take place later this month. It said that alternative dates are being discussed.
Sharif said that postponing Xi’s visit would be a great loss as he was hoping for US$34 billion in Chinese investment in the coming years.
The trip had been in doubt since Friday, when Sharif’s Twitter account posted a message saying it had been canceled.
Khan and Qadri said they will greet Xi if he travels to Pakistan, but refused to call off protest, saying they will do so only when Sharif steps down.
Sharif has said that he will not resign.
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