China ready to play 'constructive' role to ease Indo-Pak tensions

Islamabad:  A visiting senior Chinese diplomat has said that Beijing was willing to play a "constructive" role to help ease tensions between India and Pakistan, and called on the two countries to refrain from taking any action that could further escalate the situation.

China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners who have always shared firm mutual support in issues concerning each other's core interests, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou said during his meetings with the Pakistani leadership here on Wednesday.

China paid close attention to the current situation between Pakistan and India, he said, adding that Beijing "appreciates the calmness and restraint on the Pakistani side and its efforts to defuse the tensions through dialogues with the Indian side", reports Xinhua news agency.

Beijing has maintained that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected and it does not wish to see any actions that violate rules of international relations, Kong said.

China urged both sides to avoid any actions that could further escalate the situation, show good will and flexibility, and engage each other in dialogues as soon as possible so as to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability, he added.

During his visit, Kong met Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. He also held talks with Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua.

Pakistan appreciated China for remaining "objective and fair" over the current situation and thanked Beijing for its efforts to reduce the tensions.