China on Wednesday termed as “regrettable” India’s strikes on terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and urged both New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise restraint.
Beijing’s reaction came hours after India’s defence ministry announced that Indian armed forces had targeted nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) from where terrorist strikes were planned and directed in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22.
“China finds India’s military operation early this morning regrettable. We are concerned about the ongoing situation. India and Pakistan are and will always be each other’s neighbors,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a short statement.
“They’re both China’s neighbours as well. China opposes all forms of terrorism. We urge both sides to act in the larger interest of peace and stability, remain calm, exercise restraint and refrain from taking actions that may further complicate the situation,” the statement said.
The statement was issued by the Chinese foreign ministry as a response to an anonymous question: “Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, India launched military strikes on targets in Pakistan on the early morning of May 7, which met strong response from Pakistan. What’s China’s comment?”
Earlier, Beijing had welcomed measures to cool down the situation between India and Pakistan, calling for a “fair and just investigation” into the attacks. In late April, Foreign minister Wang Yi also spoke to Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar expressing support for what he called Pakistan’s “resolute” action on terrorism.
China and Pakistan consider each other as “iron brothers”, signifying a close and strategic relationship. Earlier this week, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari met with Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong with focus on the growing tensions between Pakistan and India in wake of the Pahalgam terror act.