Beijing : After the killing of Al Qaeda leader, China reaffirmed its support for efforts by its ally Pakistan to combat terrorism, and urged the world to help Islamabad.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu stopped short of directly criticising the daring raid by US special forces on Pakistani soil that ended with bin Laden’s death but said national sovereignty “should be respected” at all times.
“We support Pakistan’s position and understand and support Pakistan formulating and
implementing a counter-terrorism strategy based on its national conditions.”Since Sunday’s raid, Pakistan has been on the defensive over its failure to find bin Laden, who was living in a compound near the country’s top military academy in Abbottabad.
Islamabad has rejected those criticisms, with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani saying that the United States and other countries shared the blame for not finding bin Laden sooner.
Gilani on Wednesday called on the “entire world” to help Pakistan fight terrorism and extremism – a call quickly answered by its close ally Beijing.
Islamabad has complained that the US military raid was unauthorized and unilateral, and should not set any precedent, but US President Barack Obama has said he reserves the right to target fugitives in Pakistan in future.
