Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate of Pakistan Mushahid Hussain Syed said Saturday that Pakistan could play a pivotal role in the emergence of historic confluence of regions of South Asia, Central Asia and West China in terms of providing energy and economic corridor and linkage.

Mushahid made the remarks while concluding a two-day seminar on "Sino-Pak relations with Special Emphasis on West China" organized by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) of Pakistan in collaboration with China's Institute of South Asian Studies, Sichuan University (ISAS), Chengdu and Institute of South Asian Studies, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Kunming.

He said that Pakistan had already started work on upgrading the Karakoram Highway and was considering a rail link to China to materialize this vision.

He also expressed support to former Chief Economist Fasih Uddin 's viewpoint that Pakistan should not plan its policies in fragmentation vis-a-vis China and a comprehensive and lasting approach should be adopted.

Mushahid stressed for greater cooperation between China and Pakistan not only in the sectors of defense and economy but also in research and people to people contact level. "For that matter we are planning to establish the China Policy Institute very soon, " he said.

Source: Xinhua