Pakistan's interim PM Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar under fire for comparing Pak-China ties with US-Israel relations

Pakistan’s interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, on Friday (September 22) garnered criticism mostly from supporters of former PM Imran Khan after he apparently compared Beijing’s strong ties with Islamabad to that of the United States’ support for Israel.

The supposed comparison took place during an interview with the Council on Foreign Relations, as the Pakistan PM is in the midst of a visit to the US to attend the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

What did Kakar say?

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When asked about the relationship between Pakistan and China by one of the attendees, Kakar said, “Pakistan enjoys a strategic relationship with China. We are very clear that there are people who would qualify Pakistan as China’s Israel.”

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He added, “It is probably a more good analogy forAmerican audience because you do understand and appreciate the value of Israel for the United States.” He also spoke about how the two countries have “a lot in common in terms of the emergent crises within the region” and “commonalities on certain issues”.

The issues that the caretaker Pakistan PM referred to included the One-China policy, and China’s stance on Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang.

Kakar went on to talk about how Beijing supported Islamabad around 2012-2013 when many in the West were “predicting Pakistan is a failed state and it is going to be dysfunctional soon in that context our Chinese friends intervened…with a sizeable project the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)...”

‘Shockingly poor language’

The statement was not well-received by some in Pakistan who took to social media to express their anger over the interim PM’s remarks. “Why would I want my country to be like ‘China’s Israel’? Why can we not just define Pakistan as Pakistan itself, and make it a prosperous example for the world to follow?” said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ex-MPA Taimur Khan Jhagra, on X.

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He added, “Shockingly poor language to compare Pakistan with an apartheid state (that)Pakistan doesn’t recognise.”

Meanwhile, PTI’s Faisal Amin Khan, pointed out that Kakar may be referring to Chinese General Xiong Guangkai’s quote in the introduction of Andrew Small’s The China Pakistan Axis: Asia’s New Geopolitics which states “Pakistan is China’s Israel”.

“Comparing your country to a bully like Israel isn’t very smart…seemed like the prime minister read the book on his way to New York,” said Khan, on X.

Supreme Court lawyer Zahid F. Ebrahim said, “I did not expect better from Mr Kakar. But, I did expect better from @JalilJilani (Foreign Minister Jalil Jilani).”

He added, “The caretaker FM should have vigorously opposed this outrageously wasteful foreign jaunt by a caretaker PM.”

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