IN the last article, I recapped part of my recent discussions with officials of the US government and think tanks in Washington. The article focused on their concern with the current state of affairs in Pakistan and the future direction of Pakistan. What follows is the rest of the discussion on another US conundrum: how to handle Pakistan-China relationship, and their perception of the oversized Chinese influence in Pakistan. Understandably and for good geo-strategic reasons, US colleagues are concerned. I admitted that I’m no expert on Pak-China relationships, however, as a keen observer of the political and economic developments in Pakistan, I offered them the following:

The foundation of Pakistan and Chinese friendship goes back to 1951 when one of the first high-powered delegations from Pakistan visited China for many months to establish the groundwork for long- term partnership and future cooperation. Incidentally, the delegation comprised Sheikh Mujeeb-ur-Rahman (the future founder of Bangladesh), Miangul Aurangzeb (Crown Prince of Swat) and many other notables, and was led by Sufi Abdul Hameed (who happens to be the author’s grandfather). Since then, Pakistan and China have enjoyed a very close friendship which culminated into a massive economic partnership named CPEC. It is arguable who is benefiting more from this investment, but be that as it may, it has positive as well as negative........

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