China to continue to help ease India, Pakistan tension

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA

China on Monday said it was in close contact with India and Pakistan and that it welcomed efforts to promote peace and stability, media reports said.

Reiterating its stance regarding tensions between India and Pakistan that cropped up following airstrikes between the nuclear armed neighbors, China said it supported all efforts towards regional peace and stability, the daily Indian Express reported.

However, the Press Trust of India news agency reported that the Chinese foreign affairs ministry spokesman remained silent on whether Beijing was planning to send a special envoy to New Delhi and Islamabad to help ease tensions.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had claimed on March 2 that China planned to send a special envoy to Pakistan and India.

"Both are important countries in South Asia and we believe they can resolve the issue through consultations and dialogue," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang.

On whether China would play the role of a mediator to ease the tensions between India and Pakistan, Lu said Beijing would maintain contact with both nations and continue to play a constructive role.

Asked about Qureshi's reported remarks, Lu expressed hope that India and Pakistan could resolve their issues through "friendly consultations and negotiations."

Last week, Indian jets entered Pakistan claiming to have killed several terrorists inside a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM), a militant group that claimed responsibility of a suicide bombing that killed more than 40 Indian troops in mid-February.

Pakistan, which has banned JEM since 2002 but is accused by India of providing the group a sanctuary, denied the claim saying the Indian jets had dropped bombs at empty forestland.

Relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors further soured when warplanes from both sides engaged in a dogfight along the border of disputed Kashmir. India and Pakistan claimed to have downed each other's planes and an Indian pilot was captured.

In a move to quell tensions, Pakistan handed over the captured pilot, Abhinandan Varthaman, to Indian authorities last Friday.

The U.S., EU, Turkey and many other states have urged both countries to resolve their differences through talks.

The two South Asian nations have fought three wars in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir -- since they were partitioned in 1947.