Editorials in Pakistani Dailies Examine Pakistan’s Deepening Alliance with China as a Counterweight against U.S. and India

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani took a four-day trip to China from May 17-20, 2011. Although the visit was planned much earlier to mark the 60 years of Pakistan-China friendship, it acquired unprecedented importance in international relations following the May 1 killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a unilateral U.S. operation in Pakistan’s Abbottabad city.

The Abbottabad operation was seen in Pakistan and internationally as a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty, as the U.S. carried out the operation without informing the Pakistani leaders. Soon after the operation, China issued statements of support for Pakistan and praised its role in the war against terror.

During Gilani’s May 17-20 visit to Beijing, Chinese leaders also asked the U.S. to respect Pakistan’s sovereignty and appreciate its role in the war on terror. Pakistan has been a longstanding ally of China, but has in recent years been deepening the relationship. This strengthening of Chinese-Pakistani ties is being seen as an attempt to undercut the influence of the U.S. and India in Afghanistan and wider South Asia.

In a series of editorials excerpts below, various Pakistani newspapers wrote about Prime Minister Gilani’s visit to China and its implications for Pakistan, the U.S. and India.