Prior to the 2018 elections, China urged the Pakistani establishment against any “new experiment”

According to Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, China has advised the Pakistani establishment against engaging in any “new experiment” before the 2018 general elections.

During a Geo News programme called “Jirga” on Saturday night, the minister made the assertion and attacked the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led administration for undermining the $ 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was reported by Geo TV as stating, “China had tried to convey (a message) to the then establishment to avoid any new experiment as it would derail CPEC.”

But the then-establishment gave Beijing the assurance that whomever took office would not put barriers in the way of the massive infrastructure and connectivity project.

Beijing has requested that the government refrain from interfering with elections because, as the planning minister stated, “any experiment of change will not be beneficial for Pakistan and will destroy the CPEC.”

In response to a query, the minister emphasised the significance of policy continuity for a nation’s advancement and growth.

The PML-N minister launched a new attack on the previous governing party, charging that Imran Khan’s group had scandalised the scheme that would alter the game. According to him, the project was the target of suspicions of corruption, and Western media outlets emphasised the PTI officials’ divisive sentiments.

He said that PTI minister Murad Saeed had humiliated the Chinese state-owned business by making unfounded accusations of corruption against him relating the CPEC.

The minister said that it may have been the first time that a state-owned enterprise in China condemned a minister with whom it had been doing business.

He said that by unfounded accusations, delaying the renewal of Chinese workers’ visas, and other strategies, the PTI-led government had shattered the sentiment fostered by the PML-N.

Iqbal, however, said that his comment on China in a TV interview was “taken out of context” in a statement released on Sunday.

China upholds a position of non-interference in other nations’ internal affairs. Senior businesses involved in the CPEC projects privately voiced the belief that holding fair elections will help Pakistan maintain stability.

The minister continued, though, that by March or April of 2018, it had become abundantly clear and was openly discussed in international media that the establishment at the time didn’t want the PML-N government to return and that it was assisting PTI in taking office by interfering in the electoral process.

Several political groups who were in opposition during the PTI’s administration assert that Imran Khan was installed in office via election manipulation by the strong army.