Olympic Torch Hits China-Friendly Pakistan
CBS News reports on the Olympic torch relay’s passage through Pakistan, one of China’s staunchest allies:
The upbeat mood of the leaders could not mask last-minute security concerns surrounding the Olympic torch relay. On Tuesday, Pakistan’s Olympic officials unexpectedly changed the venue for the formal ceremony to receive the torch – deciding to hold the event in a well-secured stadium rather than on an open street in front of the parliamentary building in Islamabad.
The decision was made over concerns that Islamic militants who sympathise with China’s Muslim separatists from the northern Xinjiang province may try to disrupt the event. The issue of Chinese Muslim separatists teaming up with Pakistan Muslim hardliners has added a new dimension to Pakistan-China relations over the past three years.
Pakistani officials claim just in the past week that they have blocked all the key border crossings between Xinjiang and Pakistan to prevent militants from coming into the country. Before concluding his trip to China, Musharraf stopped in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, in a symbolic move meant to reinforce Pakistan’s interest in improving stability in the region.
Origin: Farhan Bokhari, CBS News
