Guess what! China’s state-media has just called the Kashmir area under Pakistan, as Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). What’s significant about this is that till now China always referred PoK as Pakistan-administered Kashmir. In an article titled “India should adopt an open attitude toward the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor”, the Global Times says, “…it is precisely because of the region’s worsening investment environment that POK’s economy is still heavily reliant on agriculture. Also, the northern part of India bordering Pakistan and India-controlled Kashmir both lack basic infrastructure.”
The reference to PoK as Pakistan Occupied Kashmir is also made in context to an Indian media report. “Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj voiced India’s concerns over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes through Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK), during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s India trip, Indian media reported.” the article starts. While the second mention is a quote from an Indian media report, the fact that China has taken it as it is holds significance.
The article states that despite India’s protests, China is “unlikely” to give up on the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. “The CPEC is not a zero-sum game where Pakistan gains and India loses. If economic cooperation between China and Pakistan can improve infrastructure in the region, including in the Kashmir area, India will have an opportunity to expand trade routes to Central Asia,” Global Times says. The article also indicated that China may want to steer clear of the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.
The article from China’s state-media comes at a time when tensions are on the boil between India and Pakistan. In an all-party meet on Jammu and Kashmir, PM Narendra Modi spoke of PoK as a part of Jammu and Kashmir and called for exposing Pakistan’s atrocities in Balochistan. “Pakistan forgets that it bombs its own citizens using fighter planes. The time has come when Pakistan shall have to answer to the world for the atrocities committed by it against people in Baluchistan and PoK,” PM Modi had said.
