Beijing: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi made an ‘urgent’ phone call to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to update him about the tensions between Pakistan and India, Chinese Foreign Ministry said here Thursday.
During the call, Wang briefed Qureshi on China’s efforts to promote peace talks and reiterated his hope that Pakistan and India would exercise restraint and ‘earnestly fulfil’ their commitment to prevent the escalation of the situation, a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
“Late at night on February 27, 2019, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi made an urgent call to State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to update him on the situation between Pakistan and India,” the statement said.
Qureshi made the phone call after Wang held extensive talks Wednesday with India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the Russia, India, China (RIC) Foreign Ministers meeting in the Chinese city of Wuzhen.
Swaraj forcefully raised the terror strike issue with her Chinese counterpart and said the Pulwama attack is the direct result of the ‘impunity and cover’ provided to the Jaish-e-Muhammed terror group by Pakistan.
Wang told Qureshi that China will continue to play a ‘constructive role’” in easing the current tension.
“Wang also stressed that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be truly respected. China does not want to see any behaviour that goes against the norms governing international relations,” the statement further said.
Earlier after the RIC Ministers meeting, Wang had said that China is against all forms of terrorism. “We agreed to jointly combat all forms terrorism through closer policy coordination and practical cooperation. Especially important is to eradicate the breeding grounds of terrorism and extremism,” Wang had said.
PTI