Worried about increasing Chinese influence on Pak: Former US NSA

WASHINGTON: Former US National Security Advisor (NSA) John Bolton on Saturday expressed deep concerns over China’s growing influence on Pakistan, especially during the current “delicate situation” in the region following the heinous April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 innocent civilians were gunned down by four terrorists, two of them from Pakistan, after identifying their religion. “I am concerned about the growing influence that China has over the government of Pakistan, which really is a threat to peace and security in that region.

There’s a lot at stake here and I think that the US role should be to cooperate closely with India, as we have in the past on counterterrorism measures, and perhaps cooperate more closely and continue to talk to the government of Pakistan about why this situation needs to come to an acceptable conclusion,” Bolton told the news agency in an exclusive interview.