This is an archive article published on October 1, 2016
China calls on India, Pakistan to exercise restraint
“As a shared neighbour and friend to both India and Pakistan, we are concerned about continuous confrontation and tensions between India and Pakistan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
“Since there have been tensions between India and Pakistan, China has been in communication with both the countries to exercise restraint, enhance communication and properly resolve differences,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Sheung said.
As Pakistan’s special envoys met the Chinese leadership to lobby for their viewpoint on Kashmir, China on Friday expressed concern over the “continuous confrontation and tensions” between India and Pakistan, and called on both parties to exercise restraint and refrain from actions that can escalate tensions.
“As a shared neighbour and friend to both India and Pakistan, we are concerned about continuous confrontation and tensions between India and Pakistan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Sheung told reporters.
“We call on all relevant parties to exercise restraint and refrain from actions that would escalate tension,” he said, replying to a question on the “surgical strikes” on launch pads of the terrorists. He said China hopes that both parties would address their differences through dialogue.
“Since there have been tensions between India and Pakistan, China has been in communication with both the countries to exercise restraint, enhance communication and properly resolve differences,” he said.
In a statement released by the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, Islamabad said special envoys of Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif, parliamentarians Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar and Alam Dad Laleka, arrived in Beijing Thursday. “They are visiting China on the instructions of the Prime Minister to apprise the Chinese government of the deteriorating situation in Jammu and Kashmir. They met Liu Zhenmin, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. They also held a meeting with Mr. Cai Wu, Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of CPPCC,” said the statement.
The statement added that the special envoys had, in their meetings with Chinese leaders, “explained that situation in Kashmir was deteriorating fast and required urgent attention of the international community”.
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According to the statement, the Chinese side “expressed its concern over the situation in Kashmir”. “They said that China gives great importance to Pakistan’s position. Kashmir dispute is a left over issue from history which needs to be resolved through dialogue and negotiations,” it said.
On Thursday, before the news of India’s “surgical strikes” broke, Geng said China was in touch with India and Pakistan through various channels to bring down their tensions.
Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More