ISLAMABAD – Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal sparked a new controversy, saying Beijing cautioned Pakistani establishment against any new experiment ahead of the 2018 general elections.
Following a strong reaction on social media, the PML-N leader clarified his stance on his statement, saying his statement about Beijing issuing a warning to the establishment was ‘taken out of context’.
In his recent appearance at a local news outlet, Ahsan Iqbal said that it was in his personal knowledge that China conveyed to the establishment to avoid any new experiment as it could affect Pakistan-China flagship project CPEC.
He mentioned that Chinese official allegedly told officials not to interfere in the general elections.
Iqbal now clears the air that his statement about China was taken out of context, insisting that the suggestion of not meddling with the elections was the ‘privately expressed opinion of some senior businessmen working on CPEC projects’, rather than Chinese officials.
My statement about China in a TV interview is out of context which needs clarification. China maintains a policy of non interference in domestic affairs of other countries. Some senior businessmen working on CPEC projects privately expressed the opinion that fair and free…
— Ahsan Iqbal (@betterpakistan) July 9, 2023
Several leaders of the former ruling party including Shah Mahmood Qureshi slammed Iqbal over irresponsible statement. Qureshi said such statements are baffling and insulting, and further maintained that PTI had always had a strong consensus on taking CPEC forward.
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