“We enjoy very close relation with Islamabad Says Ex China Diplomat
NEW DELHI : For the second time in less than a week, China sprung to long-time ally Pakistan’s defense while opposing India’s stance of linking the country to terrorism.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had branded Pakistan a ‘mothership of terrorism’ while speaking at a summit of the BRICS nations.
Reacting sharply to PM Modi’s statement, China defended its all-weather ally, saying it is against linking any country or religion with terror and asked the world community to acknowledge Pakistan’s “great sacrifices”.
Answering a question on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of Islamabad in aiding and abetting terror groups against India, China’s former ambassador to India Sun Yuxi said, “You (reporters) say Pakistan sponsors terrorism but I cannot see it. I don’t believe it.”
Yuxi was speaking at BRICS media event where he refused to comment on Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan while admitting that Beijing shares close ties with the latter.
“We enjoy very close relation with Islamabad, however, Kashmir is an issue between India and Pakistan and China will not comment or intervene in the matter,” Yuxi said.
“Both India and Pakistan must resolve the matter by talks,” he added. In addition, the Chinese diplomat evaded question on Beijing blocking India’s bid to get Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar declared UN-designated terrorist and walked away.
This is the second time in a day when China openly came in support of Pakistan and opposed linking the country as a ‘terrorism sponsored state’.Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had branded Pakistan a ‘mothership of terrorism’ while speaking at a summit of the BRICS nations.
Reacting sharply to PM Modi’s statement, China defended its all-weather ally, saying it is against linking any country or religion with terror and asked the world community to acknowledge Pakistan’s “great sacrifices”.
“We oppose terrorism in all forms and we believe that international concerted efforts are needed to ensure stability and security of all countries,” the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Hua Chunying said.
“We oppose linking terrorism with any specific ethnicity or religion. This is our long-standing position. China and Pakistan are all-weather friends,” she said.
