Beijing/Islamabad: China Thursday ‘commended’ its close ally Pakistan for showing restraint after the Pulwama terror attack and urged New Delhi and Islamabad to refrain from aggravating the situation as Beijing weighed its options to take a stand on the fresh move in the UN Security Council to declare JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.
China Wednesday despatched its Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou to Islamabad Wednesday to defuse the Indo-Pak tensions.
Kong held in-depth talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, besides Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, regarding the Indo-Pak tensions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told the media in Beijing.
In his talks with Pakistani leaders and officials, Kong “stressed that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners,” Lu said.
“We commend that Pakistan has been restrained and calm and tried to ease the tension. He also stressed that China believes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a country should be upheld. We are not willing to see any action that is violating international law,” Lu said.
“China calls on both Pakistan and India to refrain from aggravating the situation, to uphold regional peace and stability through dialogue at an early date,” he said, adding that China will continue to play a constructive role.
China thrice blocked efforts to list Azhar as a global terrorist by the UNSC by putting up technical holds. However, expectations are high that Beijing may take a different stand this time considering JeM has admitted its role in the Pulwama attack. Also, China’s relations with India improved after the first informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Wuhan last year.
In an interview early this week, Qureshi said the Pakistan government will consult all parties before approaching China while responding to a question whether Islamabad would request Beijing to veto the proposal to designate Azhar as a global terrorist by the UNSC.
PTI