Worrisome Pak-China Initiative A recent event in the region has set alarm bells ringing in the Indian Ministries of Defence and External Affairs. There are reports that during the 3rd virtual meeting of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination with attendance by Chinese and Pakistani officials, both countries have welcomed interested third parties to benefit from avenues opened up by CPEC for mutually beneficial cooperation. This third party has been identified as Afghanistan, as both Pakistan and China want to stay connected with the Taliban regime of Afghanistan and thus might be working closely to entice Talibani rulers to become part of the extended CPEC under the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The meeting was co-chaired by Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood and China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao. The senior Pakistani and Chinese officials discussed the possibility of extending the CP