China says ‘pleased’ with thaw in Pakistan-India ties

A Pakistani Ranger (R) and an Indian Border Security Force personnel (L) shake hands during a flag off ceremony at the India-Pakistan Wagah Border Post, in Wagah on October 20, 2016. - Australian army cricket team arrived in Pakistan to participate of the First International PACES (Physical Agility and Combat Efficiency System) Competition-2016.The International PACES is the first ever mega sports event to compete with over 270 participants from armies of 16 countries including Pakistan. (Photo by ARIF ALI / AFP)

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Monday China was “pleased” by signs of a rapprochement in Pakistan-India relations, frozen since 2019 due to disputes over the Himalayan Kashmir region.

In indications of a thaw in ties, India and Pakistan this month held the first meeting in three years of a commission on water rights from the Indus River. The talks are the latest in both nations’ tentative efforts to re-engage after a 2019 suicide bomb in Indian Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based guerrillas – Islamabad denies state complicity – and India’s move later that year to strip Kashmir’s constitutional autonomy.

Last month, India and Pakistan announced a rare agreement to stop firing on the bitterly-contested Kashmir border.

Zhao told a press conference on Monday China was “pleased with Pakistan’s recent positive interactions with India.”

“We are ready to work with Pakistan, and continue to inject positive energy into regional peace, stability and development,” Zhao was quoted by Pakistani media as saying, adding that China supported Pakistan’s foreign policy of peace and good-neighbourliness as well as its commitment to advancing the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

Zhao called on world leaders, especially South Asian leaders, to discard hatred, prejudice and religious extremism, and jointly safeguard regional peace and prosperity.

“To pursue peace and development is the shared aspiration of all countries in the region,” the spokesperson said.

Earlier this month, Pakistan’s army chief called on India and Pakistan to “bury the past” and move towards cooperation, stressing that the burden was on India to create a “conducive environment.”

Pakistan and India, both nuclear armed countries, have fought three wars. In 2019, tensions rose dramatically when both nations sent combat planes into each other’s territory.

“We feel it is time to bury the past and move forward,” Bajwa said in a speech at a conference in Islamabad meant to highlight the Pakistani government’s new security policies. “But…our neighbour (India) will have to create a conducive environment, particularly in Indian-occupied Kashmir.”

Courtesy – www.arabnews.pk