China on Sunday supported its close friend Pakistan in defending its sovereignty and security interests, with foreign minister Wang Yi urging New Delhi and Islamabad to show restraint following the terror attack in Pahalgam.
While speaking on the phone to his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, Wang stated that China closely monitors the follow-up after the terror attack and supports an “impartial investigation” into the incident, a readout of China’s foreign ministry stated.
Tensions Between India and Pakistan Intensify
Wang made the remarks in the context of increased tensions between India and Pakistan after the terrorist strike on tourists in Pahalgam on April 22, which killed 26 individuals. The strike was attributed to The Resistance Front, a Pakistan proxy for Lashkar-e-Taiba.
India declared a series of retaliatory steps against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and shutting down the sole functioning land border crossing at Attari. Pakistan declared that it would treat any halt to river waters as an “act of war” and launched counter-measures, including closing its airspace to Indian airliners and suspending all trade.
China Supports Pakistan for Anti-Terrorism Efforts
“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 security concerns and supports its efforts to safeguard sovereignty and security interests,” Wang said 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 core interests of Pakistan and India, or in regional peace and stability, and the two nations ought to “exercise restraint, meet each other halfway and promote the cooling of the situation”, he added.
Pakistan’s Response to the Situation
Dar, who is also the deputy prime minister of Pakistan, apprised Wang about Pakistan-India tensions regarding the terror attack and informed him that Islamabad has been steadfast in the fight against terrorism and “opposed taking actions that may lead to an escalation of the situation”, the Chinese readout added. Dar stated Pakistan is determined to handle the situation in a mature fashion and will keep in touch with China and the international 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.
No prompt reaction came from Indian authorities to the remarks made by the foreign ministers of China and Pakistan
India’s Diplomatic Response
Separately, external affairs minister S Jaishankar also had a call with his British counterpart David Lammy on Sunday and “discussed the cross-border terrorist attack at Pahalgam”. Jaishankar tweeted that he had “underlined the importance of zero tolerance for terrorism”.
In the last few days, Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have held talks with various world leaders such as US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer regarding the terror attack. The world leaders have condemned the attack and shown solidarity towards India.
