E-Paper
China advises India and Pak to control tension
Answering a question from the Chinese state media at Wednesday’s regular briefing about Indian and Pakistani troops exchanging fire in the recent days, spokesperson, Hong Lei said China was 'highly attentive to the situation'.
China on Wednesday urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint along the Line of Control (LoC) between the two countries and stop fighting.
Answering a question from the Chinese state media at Wednesday’s regular briefing about Indian and Pakistani troops exchanging fire in the recent days, spokesperson, Hong Lei said China was “highly attentive to the situation”.
As a neighbor and friend of both India and Pakistan, China calls on the two countries to keep restraint, cease fire and properly handle disputes through dialogue and consultation, Hong said.
“They should make joint efforts for South Asia's peace, stability and development,” Hong said.
A report released late evening in the Chinese government’s official news agency, Xinhua, said that Pakistan had reported 12 people were killed in the firing by the Indian side in the past 10 days along the LoC “in the disputed Kashmir region and the working boundary that separates the two countries in Punjab province”.
“India also said Pakistani shelling had killed and injured dozens of its nationals,” the report said adding: “Both countries declared a ceasefire along the LoC in 2003 and guns had relatively been silent since then. However, the two sides occasionally trade fire. There has been heavy shelling over the past 10 days”.
China considers Pakistan as its “all weather friend” and has pumped in huge amounts of money to build its military and civil infrastructure much to India’s consternation.
India has repeatedly pointed out to China about the presence of its military personnel inside, what New Delhi calls, Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir.
But Beijing has repeatedly brushed aside India’s worries, saying it’s friendship with Pakistan was not to target a third country.
