Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday lauded Pakistan for its anti-terror campaign, especially for its support in the crackdown on separatists in the restive Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province, at a time when India is pressing Islamabad to contain cross-border terrorism.
Xi, on a two-day historic state visit to "all-weather" ally Pakistan, addressed a joint session of Pakistan's parliament which is the first for any Chinese president.
Both China and Pakistan "share a common stake in security", Xi told Parliament in a speech that was aired live nationally as he linked economic cooperation with security.
"Over the years Pakistan has overcome all kinds of difficulties and contributed greatly to the security and stability of China's western border areas and this is something that we shall never forget," Xi said.
He also praised Pakistan's anti-terror effort, saying that Islamabad has always stood at the frontlines in the fight against terrorism and has made huge sacrifices to that end. Xi's comments came as Pakistan vowed to step up cooperation in tackling terrorism.
"We will fight together to eliminate the menace of terrorism. Our joint efforts against terrorism have succeeded so far, but we have to intensify the efforts to achieve our goals," Sharif told parliament.
"Our defence ties are strong; and they are poised to become stronger in the years to come," he added.
On Monday, the Pakistani premier termed China's security "as important to us as Pakistan's security" as the two countries upgraded their relations to "all-weather ties".
Interestingly, Xi's praise for Pakistan comes at a time when India is "extremely disappointed" with the country for letting 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi walk free earlier this month.
China, Pak launch joint think-tank; face ridicule on acronym
All-weather allies China and Pakistan have launched their first joint think-tank, the acronym of which became the butt of jokes on social media. The Research and Development International (RANDI), launched around the time of Chinese President Xi Jinping's maiden visit to Pakistan, left some social media users in splits as the acronym sounded like a word in Hindu and Urdu that refers to a 'prostitute' in derogatory terms.
Twitter went berserk, with many relating the acronym to the closeness between the two countries. "#Pakistan is now officially #China's #RANDI," said a user called Chandan Sandhu. "Pak finally figured out what they are and created a think tank with china called #RaNdi," another user Prashanth K E tweeted. In one of the more understated reactions, writer and political activist Fatima Bhutto tweeted: "Well, that's an unfortunate name for a think tank..."
Pak army to protect Chinese nationals
Pakistan will deploy 10,000 army personnel, including commandoes with anti-terrorism training, for the protection of Chinese citizens working in the country, President Mamnoon Hussain said on Tuesday. Chinese President Xi Jinping raised the issue of security for the Chinese nationals working in Pakistan during a one-on-one meeting with Hussain. Responding to Xi's query, Hussain said Pakistan has created a special security division for the protection of Chinese engineers, project directors, experts and workers employed on various Chinese funded projects across the country. "I am pleased to inform you that the government has accorded approval to provide security to the Chinese working in Pakistan and a special security division has been created for this purpose," said Hussain. A force of 10,000 personnel is being given the task, officials said.