China once again “assured Pakistan of its support and commitment” and announced that it supported Islamabad’s decision to approach the UN Security Council in the wake of India’s decision to scrap Article 370 of its Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Beijing said that it was seriously concerned about the latest escalation of tensions in Kashmir.
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An official statement on this was issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry after a meeting between visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on Friday.
“The Kashmir issue is a dispute left from colonial history. It should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreement,” the statement said.
“China believes that unilateral actions that will complicate the situation should not be taken.”
Wang stressed that as all-weather strategic cooperative partners, China and Pakistan have understood and supported each other on issues concerning “our respective core interests”.
Qureshi, who arrived in the Chinese capital early Friday to hold consultations over India repealing Article 370, apprised officials in Beijing about Pakistan’s concerns and reservations.
In a series of Twitter posts, Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi said he thanked his Chinese counterpart for a meeting on short notice.
“Today I had a strong and conclusive meeting with State Counsellor and Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi. Pakistan shares a bond of brotherhood with China as further evidenced in the meeting today where China reassured Pakistan of its support and commitment.
“China supports Pakistan’s repeated calls for peace and stability and we will work together to highlight the voice of Kashmiris to the world.”
He further added that China was Pakistan’s friend that has long been trusted and that friendship between the two nations was rock solid.
After his meeting with Wang, Qureshi had said that China intends to support Pakistan in the UNSC over the Kashmir issue.
Pakistan government had condemned the abrogation of Article 370 saying that it will “exercise all possible options to counter it”.
Earlier on Wednesday, China’s Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing had said that Jammu and Kashmir was an “internationally recognized disputed territory”, and criticised the Indian government for unilaterally revoking its special status.
He also stressed on the need for compliance with international laws and hoped that both Pakistan and India would “take a suitable decision for the betterment of the Kashmiri people”.
The Indian Parliament on Tuesday revoked Article 370 of the Constitution and approved bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories.
