During a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, Chinese foreign minister said China is closely following developments after the Pahalgam attack.
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.
In a separate development, external affairs minister S Jaishankar spoke to his British counterpart David Lammy on Sunday and “discussed the cross-border terrorist attack at Pahalgam”. Jaishankar said in a social media post that he had “underlined the importance of zero tolerance for terrorism”.
