China on Sunday backed its close ally Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty and security interests, with foreign minister Wang Yi calling on New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise restrain in the aftermath of the terror attack in Pahalgam.
During a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, Wang said China is closely following developments after the terror attack and backs an “impartial investigation” into the incident, according to a readout from China’s foreign ministry.
Wang’s comments came against the backdrop of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the terrorist attack on tourists near Pahalgam on April 22 that killed 26 people. The attack was claimed by The Resistance Front, a proxy for Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
India announced a slew of punitive measures against Pakistan, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and closure of the only operational land border crossing at Attari. Pakistan said any stopping of river waters will be seen as an “act of war” and unveiled counter-measures such as the closure of its airspace to Indian airliners and suspension of all trade.
“China has always supported Pakistan in its resolute anti-terrorism actions. As a staunch friend and all-weather strategic partner, China fully understands Pakistan’s reasonable security concerns and supports Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty and security interests,” Wang was quoted as saying in the Chinese readout.
China is closely following the “development of the current situation” and “supports an impartial investigation as soon as possible”, Wang said.
Conflict is not in the fundamental interests of India and Pakistan, or conducive to regional peace and stability, and both countries should “exercise restraint, meet each other halfway and promote the cooling of the situation”, he said.
Dar, who is also Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, briefed Wang on the tensions between Pakistan and India over the terror attack and said Islamabad has always been resolute in combating terrorism and “opposed taking actions that may lead to an escalation of the situation”, the Chinese readout said.
Dar said Pakistan is committed to managing the situation in a mature manner and will maintain communication with China and the world community.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Dar rejected India’s “unilateral and illegal actions” and “its baseless propaganda against Pakistan”.
Dar also expressed “appreciation for China’s consistent and unwavering support” and reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong commitment to the shared vision of an all-weather strategic cooperative partnership,” the statement said.
“Both sides reiterated their firm resolve to uphold regional peace and stability, promote mutual respect and understanding, and jointly oppose unilateralism and hegemonic policies,” it said.
There was no immediate response from Indian officials to the comments by the Chinese and Pakistani foreign ministers.
China on Sunday backed its close ally Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty and security interests, with foreign minister Wang Yi calling on New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise restrain in the aftermath of the terror attack in Pahalgam.
During a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, Wang said China is closely following developments after the terror attack and backs an “impartial investigation” into the incident, according to a readout from China’s foreign ministry.
Wang’s comments came against the backdrop of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the terrorist attack on tourists near Pahalgam on April 22 that killed 26 people. The attack was claimed by The Resistance Front, a proxy for Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
India announced a slew of punitive measures against Pakistan, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and closure of the only operational land border crossing at Attari. Pakistan said any stopping of river waters will be seen as an “act of war” and unveiled counter-measures such as the closure of its airspace to Indian airliners and suspension of all trade.
“China has always supported Pakistan in its resolute anti-terrorism actions. As a staunch friend and all-weather strategic partner, China fully understands Pakistan’s reasonable security concerns and supports Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty and security interests,” Wang was quoted as saying in the Chinese readout.
China is closely following the “development of the current situation” and “supports an impartial investigation as soon as possible”, Wang said.
Conflict is not in the fundamental interests of India and Pakistan, or conducive to regional peace and stability, and both countries should “exercise restraint, meet each other halfway and promote the cooling of the situation”, he said.
Dar, who is also Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, briefed Wang on the tensions between Pakistan and India over the terror attack and said Islamabad has always been resolute in combating terrorism and “opposed taking actions that may lead to an escalation of the situation”, the Chinese readout said.
Dar said Pakistan is committed to managing the situation in a mature manner and will maintain communication with China and the world community.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Dar rejected India’s “unilateral and illegal actions” and “its baseless propaganda against Pakistan”.
Dar also expressed “appreciation for China’s consistent and unwavering support” and reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong commitment to the shared vision of an all-weather strategic cooperative partnership,” the statement said.
“Both sides reiterated their firm resolve to uphold regional peace and stability, promote mutual respect and understanding, and jointly oppose unilateralism and hegemonic policies,” it said.
There was no immediate response from Indian officials to the comments by the Chinese and Pakistani foreign ministers.
“China supports an impartial investigation as soon as possible,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the communist country’s government said in a statement issued in Beijing. The statement was released after Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Islamabad suggested that an investigating team comprising experts from China or Russia, or from the countries in the West, should probe India’s allegation about Pakistan’s role in the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
“I think Russia or China, or even Western countries, can play a very, very positive role in this crisis, and they can even set up an investigation team that should be assigned this job to investigate whether India or Mr. Modi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is lying or he is telling the truth. Let an international team find out,” Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Asif, told RIA Novosti news agency.
He made the comment a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that his government was open to participating in any neutral investigation into the April 22 carnage near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir.
New Delhi had only once in the past allowed Islamabad to take part in a probe into a terror attack in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had in March 2016 allowed a team of investigators from Pakistan to visit the scenes of attacks that the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists had carried out inside the airbase at Pathankot in India.
The officials of India’s National Investigation Agency had accompanied the investigators from Pakistan during the tour to the Indian Air Force base.
The exercise, however, had not resulted in any meaningful action by Pakistan against the terrorist organisations known for carrying out attacks in India. The Indian Army, later on September 26 that year, carried out its first publicly acknowledged “surgical strikes” on the camps of the terrorists in the areas under illegal occupation of Pakistan.
India had also carried out an airstrike on terrorist training facilities deep inside Pakistan in February 2019 in the wake of the attacks on the paramilitary personnel by the terrorists at Pulwama in J&K.
“Let’s find out who is the culprit and the perpetrator of this incident in India, in Kashmir, talk or empty statements have no effect. There must be some evidence that Pakistan is involved or that these people were supported by Pakistan. These are just statements, empty statements and nothing more,” Khawaja told RIA Novosti.
New Delhi alleged that the preliminary investigation into the killing of the 26 people at Baisaran Meadow near Pahalgam in J&K on April 22 revealed “cross-border linkages”.
The terrorists owed allegiance to the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and sneaked into India from the areas under the control of Pakistan.
India responded to the latest carnage in J&K by putting in abeyance its 65-year-old Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan, revoking visas issued to citizens of Pakistan for travelling to India, shutting down the Integrated Check Post at Attari-Wagah border between the two countries, and further downgrading bilateral relations.
New Delhi also moved to expel Pakistan’s three military officers posted as diplomats at its high commission in the capital of India.
Pakistan also initiated similar retaliatory measures against India.
After New Delhi had in August 2019 stripped J&K of its special status and reorganised the state into two Union Territories, China had joined Pakistan in opposing the move.
