The 3rd round of the Joint Consultative Mechanism (JCM) of the Political Parties on CPEC and the Pakistan-China Political Parties Forum was held today in Islamabad.
The meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar and Minister of the Central Committee of the International Department of Communist Party of China (IDCPC) Liu Jianchao. It was attended by Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, and representatives of all major political parties of Pakistan.
Addressing the JCM, Dar appreciated the positive contributions of CPEC to Pakistan’s socioeconomic development, progress, and prosperity. Lauding the political consensus on CPEC in the two countries, he expressed Pakistan’s firm resolve to build upon the achievements of CPEC and for its upgradation in its Phase II. He added that the presence of senior representatives of all major political parties of Pakistan in the meeting sent a strong signal of complete political consensus in Pakistan on the importance of Pakistan-China friendship and its salience for regional peace and development.
In his remarks, Jianchao expressed China’s readiness to work with Pakistan to jointly develop five major corridors of growth, better life, innovation, green development, and openness, with a focus on building an upgraded version of CPEC. He underlined the role of political parties in consolidating Pakistan-China relations and developing broad political consensus in support of CPEC, facilitating bilateral exchanges, and creating more platforms for bilateral cooperation. He expressed interest of the Chinese side to strengthen party-to-party exchanges and the readiness of the Communist Party of China to hold the fourth meeting of the JCM in 2026.
Representatives from the political parties who spoke at the event included Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal from the PML(N), MNA Hina Rabbani Khar from PPPP, Maulana Fazal Ur Rehman from JUI(F), Minister of Federal Education Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui from MQM, Senator Jan Muhammad Buledi from the National Party, MNA Khalid Hussain Magsi from BAP, Munaza Hassan from IPP, Senator Syed Ali Zafar from PTI, Engineer Ihsanullah from ANP, Mushahid Hussain Syed from PML(N), Afrasiab Khan Khattak from NDM, and Asif Luqman Qazi from JI.
In their remarks, the leaders and representatives of the political parties of Pakistan reaffirmed support for Pakistan-China relations and CPEC as an emblem of Pakistan-China friendship and a shining example of successful international cooperation.
They noted that the Pakistan-China friendship, which has withstood the test of time, enjoyed the full support and confidence of the people of Pakistan across generations and political affiliations. They emphasized the vital role of the political parties of Pakistan and China in strengthening Pakistan-China relations and the importance of enhanced exchanges and interactions between parliamentarians and political parties of the two countries.
The fourth meeting of the JCM will be held in China in 2026.
