After meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, China has issued a statement stating that it is against the unilateral actions taken on the Kashmir issue that might complicate the situation further. Pakistan had held talks with the top Chinese leadership.
On Sunday, China had guaranteed closer cooperation with Pakistan under the $60 billion CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor). It also called to resolve the issue of Kashmir properly and peacefully and also stated that it was against any unilateral actions taken as far as the issue was concerned when the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan met with President Xi Jinping along with other top leaders of China.
Imran Khan had called on the President of China on the last day of his 4-day visit to China to discuss a variety of issues such as the slow pace of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and also the rising concerns of China over the recurring attacks on the personnel of China who is working on the various projects in Pakistan. During the meeting, the President of China had firmly supported Pakistan’s Prime Minister in safeguarding the national independence of his nation, sovereignty and fighting terrorism, as per the news reports. Xi Jinping further said that he was willing to cooperate with Pakistan to push the in-depth development of the CPEC and to make sure that the key projects are being implemented on time.
As per the joint statement by both the nations at the end of Imran’s visit to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, it was stated that both sides reiterated that a prosperous and peaceful South Asia is in the common interest of everyone. They had emphasised the importance of the pursuit of dialogue between the two countries and the resolution of all the disputes that were outstanding for the promotion of regional cooperation.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan had briefed China on the latest developments in Jammu and Kashmir. The Chinese side then reiterated that the issues of Kashmir was a dispute that is left from history and it should be peacefully resolved based on the charter of the United Nations.
In July last year, the Indian spokesperson from the External Affairs Ministry Arindam Bagchi had objected to the reference made by CPEC and stated that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the Indian Territory which had been illegally occupied by Pakistan. He had further added that India had always rejected any reference to Jammu and Kashmir. He also said that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh had always been and will always remain an inalienable part of India.
