ISLAMABAD, July 27(ABC): Reacting to the comments of the Indian foreign ministry’s spokesperson on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Islamabad said that New Delhi’s attempts to cast aspersions over the project shows “India’s insecurity as well as the pursuit of a hegemonic agenda that has held back socio-economic development in South Asia for decades”.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said that Islamabad “categorically rejects baseless and misguided remarks” by his Indian counterpart that were made to politicise CPEC.
Ahmad said that the “CPEC is a transformational project and a harbinger of stability, mutual cooperation and shared development for the region”. He added that as a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative CPEC provides a vehicle for the people of the region to break from zero-sum approaches.
“China’s investment in CPEC has helped Pakistan overcome the energy and infrastructural bottlenecks that once constrained growth and development. Attempts to cast aspersions over CPEC show India’s insecurity as well as the pursuit of a hegemonic agenda that has held back socio-economic development in South Asia for decades,” said the spokesperson.