Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Sunday extended his warmest felicitations to China on its 74th National Day. In a statement on social media platform X, PM Kakar congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and the Chinese nation. “Pakistan takes great pride in the achievements of our Iron Brother,” he added. The PM termed Beijing as an anchor of peace and stability as well as the engine of development and progress in today’s world. Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani also extended his heartiest felicitations to Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the people of China on their National Day. In his post on X, he said that they pay tribute to the rich history, culture, and achievements of this great nation and reiterate the resolve to take China-Pakistan’s iron-clad friendship to greater heights. In an interview with The Washington Post during his visit to New York to attend the 78th United Nations General Assembly session earlier this week, Premier Kakar had said that Pakistan was focusing on its own interests without choosing sides in the great power competition, and the West was “over-obsessed” with efforts to contain China. Pakistan, he had also said, intended to stay “neutral” on Russia’s war with Ukraine and saw China as its “all-weather friend” and “strategic partner”. “It’s not a Cold War. There is no Iron Curtain here. It’s not that opaque. Everybody sees what is happening,” the prime minister had said. He had further said the West was “over-obsessed” with efforts to contain China. He had told the American newspaper that Pakistan was charting a path, designed to avoid getting caught up in the competition between the West and Russia and China. PM Kakar had said Pakistan had no intention of committing to either camp in the growing US-China rivalry. In his congratulatory message to the decade of CPEC celebration event held in Islamabad in July, President Xi had reiterated China’s unwavering support to Pakistan, saying: “No matter how the international landscape may change, China will always stand firmly with Pakistan”. Speaking about the bilateral ties, President Xi had stressed that both countries will continue to improve overall planning and expand and deepen cooperation.