China 'strongly' urges India, Pakistan to exercise calm, restraint
Beijing: China on Saturday strongly urged India and Pakistan to exercise calm and restraint and return to the track of peaceful settlement amid reports of escalation of the military conflict between the two neighbours. China is closely following the ongoing situation between India and Pakistan and is deeply concerned about the escalation, a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry said here. “We strongly urge both sides to act in the larger interest of peace and stability, exercise calm and restraint, return to the track of political settlement through peaceful means, and refrain from any action that could further escalate tensions,” the statement issued by the spokesperson of the ministry said.
He was referring to a question about the reports of escalation of conflict between India and what it terms as ironclad ally, Pakistan. “This will be important for the fundamental interest of both India and Pakistan, and for a stable and peaceful region. This is also what the international community hopes to see. China is willing to continue to play a constructive role to this end,” it said. Since the Pahalgam terrorist attack, China, while condemning it, has called for restraint, besides a fair and swift investigation into the attack. Tensions between India and Pakistan increased after the Indian armed forces on Wednesday conducted precision strikes targeting terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that had cross-border linkages. Pakistan launched a fresh wave of drone attacks targeting 26 locations in India -- from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat -- for the second night on Friday, with the Indian defence ministry saying the enemy's attempts to hit vital installations, including airports and air bases, were successfully thwarted.
While Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called China's top diplomat Wang Yi over phone and briefed him on April 27, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari and Dar. Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Beijing has been questioning the Chinese official posting and highlighting in their write up about the Pakistan military claims about the damage to Indian assets. On May 7, the Embassy’s post on social media X cautioned the Chinese state-run tabloid saying “Beware of old images shared by pro-Pakistan handles in the present context!” On Saturday, the Embassy reposted the PIB Factchek Unit's posts on X about fake news being circulated by social media outlets.
