Pakistani military ruler begins two-day Beijing visit

Pakistan's military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf is in Beijing

January 17, 2000
Web posted at: 5:46 p.m. HKT (0946 GMT)

BEIJING -- Pakistani military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf arrived in China Monday to begin a two-day visit aimed at refreshing relations between the traditional allies.

"The visit is intended to reaffirm Pakistan's close and cordial ties with China," Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a weekend statement. Talks were expected to include regional and international issues.

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In a statement issued after his arrival, Musharraf hailed China as "a country which Pakistan holds dear as its most reliable and trusted friend. China has stood by Pakistan in difficult times." Few other details of his visit were immediately available. There was speculation he would push for stronger economic relations with China.

Musharraf, accompanied by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and Commerce and Industry Minister Abdul Razzaq Daud, was scheduled to meet Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Premier Zhu Rongji and parliamentary chairman Li Peng.

Pakistan's troubled relations with India were also expected to be on the agenda, Pakistani officials added. Musharraf's trip comes amid new tension between Pakistan and India centered on last month's hijacking of an Indian Airlines jet.

New Delhi has said Pakistan masterminded the eight-day hijacking, which ended December 31 after India released three Kashmiri militants in exchange for more than 150 hostages. India has also claimed the five hijackers returned to Pakistan.

Islamabad denies the accusations and says India is trying to isolate Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Indo-Chinese relations were also delicate as New Delhi pondered how to handle the expected political asylum request from the teen-aged Karmapa Lama who left Chinese- ruled Tibet earlier in the month.

Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes said Sunday the Karmapa could stay in India, although the young lama had not filed for asylum. There was no immediate reaction from Beijing.

Last week, China told India to tread carefully and stick to the terms of bilateral agreements over the issue of granting asylum to the Karmapa, who made an eight-day trek across the snow-covered Himalayas to reach India.

Musharraf is making his first visit to a non-Islamic nation since seizing power in October during a bloodless coup in which former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was arrested. Sharif and six others are facing treason and hijacking charges stemming from the coup.