[KJM Varma]
BEIJING, 8 May: China on Thursday urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and refrain from taking actions that may “further complicate” the situation, as it asked the two neighbours to act in the “larger interests of peace and stability.”
During a media briefing here, Chinese Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that Beijing is concerned about the current developments.
“We urge both sides to act in the larger interest of peace and stability, observe international law, including the UN Charter, remain calm, exercise restraint and refrain from taking actions that may further complicate the situation,” he said without elaborating.
“We stand ready to work with the rest of the international community to continue playing a constructive role in easing the current tensions,” he added.
Jian reiterated his earlier remarks that both India and Pakistan are each other’s neighbours besides that of China.
India launched Operation Sindoor early Wednesday, hitting nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Punjab province in retaliation for the 22 April terror attack that killed 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
On Wednesday, Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong met Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar to discuss the current tense situation between Pakistan and India, according to a press release by the Chinese embassy in Pakistan.
During the meeting, Dar briefed the Chinese ambassador on India’s military strikes on targets within Pakistani territory in the morning, as well as Pakistan’s response, it added.
Zaidong earlier met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari. On 27 April, Dar called China’s top diplomat Wang Yi over the phone and briefed him on the India-Pakistan tensions. (PTI)