BELJING: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will pay an official visit to China from February 26 to March 1 at the invitation of Chinese premier Li Peng a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman announced on Thursday.
The announcement did not specify the purpose of the visit which will be the first since Sharif took office late last year.
But diplomatic observers here say the visit comes amidst strains in the U.S. Pak alliance over the Pakistani nuclear programme and popular sentiment in the Islamic republic against the United States presence in the Gulf
The visit will offer an opportunity for Chinese leaders to gauge Pakistan’s attitudes to post-war arrangements in the gulf and the extent to which Islamabad would accommodate U.S. interest: Asia an area of interest to Beijing
Article extracted from this publication >> February 22, 1991
