Pakistan’s Foreign Office, in a statement, confirmed on Saturday that Chinese president Xi Jinping, who was scheduled to visit Pakistan later this month, has postponed the trip because of security concerns.

“In view of the current political situation in Pakistan, the Governments of China and Pakistan have mutually agreed to postponement of the state visit of HE Xi Jinping, President of China, to Pakistan, which was scheduled to take place later this month,” the statement read.

Earlier on Friday, Sartaj Aziz, Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, had said as much in a prepared statement to the National Assembly foreign affairs committee. The Foreign Office’s statement today confirmed the postponement.

The Chinese foreign office had earlier denied reports that the visit was to take place at all.

“It is worth pointing out that we have never released any information about President Xi’s visit to Pakistan officially. So, there is no basis to say we are about to cancel anything,” a spokesperson had said.

The prevailing political crisis that has engulfed the nation’s capital since August 14 has made Pakistan “a laughing stock,” according to Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal.

Protest leaders Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan laid the blame for the postponement squarely on the government. “If the government can’t provide security to its own people, how can it provide security to the Chinese president?” Qadri had said in a speech on September 4.
(The Express Tribune)