China backs Pak’s ‘quest for peace through dialogue’ with India

TIL Desk/World/Beijing/ China on Sunday said it supported Pakistan’s ‘quest for peace through dialogue’ to settle the outstanding disputes with India as it backed Islamabad’s ‘engagement’ with the Nuclear Suppliers group.

A joint statement, issued here after Prime Minister Imran Khan’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, said that China backed Pakistan’s efforts to improve ties with India to settle ‘outstanding disputes’, without directly mentioning the Kashmir issue.

“China appreciates Pakistan’s quest for peace through dialogue, cooperation and negotiation, on the basis of mutual respect and equality, and supports Pakistan’s efforts for improvement of Pakistan-India relations and for settlement of outstanding disputes between the two countries,” the joint statement said.

The ties between India and Pakistan had strained after the terror attacks by Pakistan-based groups in 2016 and India’s surgical strikes inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. In recent years, China has refrained from taking a public stance on the India-Pakistan ties, expressing hope for resolution of the disputes through dialogue.