Days after External Affairs Minister Jaishankar chided Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on the issues of terrorism and Jammu & Kashmir, Beijing has backed Islamabad and said the issue should be properly and peacefully resolved in accordance with “the United Nations (UN) charter, relevant Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements.” This was mentioned in the joint statement issued after a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Bilawal in Islamabad on Saturday. Incidentally, Qin flew to the Pakistani capital immediately after attending the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ meet in Goa on Thursday and Friday. Bilawal also attended the SCO meet chaired by Jaishankar.
He rebuked Pakistan saying the neighbouring country should answer when they will “vacate the illegally occupied territories of Jammu & Kashmir.” India has always made it stand clear that terror and talks cannot go hand-in-hand.
China said on Saturday the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan was left over from history and should be resolved as per the UN resolutions while avoiding any unilateral action. The two sides issued a joint statement at the conclusion of the 4th round of the ‘Pakistan-China Strategic Dialogue’ in Islamabad.
Details of the statement were released on Sunday. Qin, on his first two-day visit to Pakistan, chaired a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal.
“The Chinese side reiterated that the Kashmir dispute was left over from history between India and Pakistan and should be properly and peacefully resolved in accordance with UN Charter, relevant UNSC resolutions and bilateral agreements.
“Both sides opposed any unilateral actions that further complicate the already volatile situation," according to the statement. The entire range of bilateral relations and cooperation, including in political, strategic, economic, defence security, education and cultural domains was reviewed while regional and global issues of mutual interest were also discussed during the dialogue, the joint statement read.
At the SCO meeting in Goa, Jaishankar launched one of his sharpest attacks on Pakistan over terrorism and Jammu & Kashmir, calling his visiting Pakistani counterpart Bilawal a "promoter, justifier and a spokesperson" of the terror industry.
Jaishankar also slammed the neighbouring nation for raising objections to India hosting G-20 meetings in Srinagar. "They have nothing to do with the G-20, nothing to do with even Srinagar and Kashmir. They should answer when they will vacate the illegally occupied territories of Jammu & Kashmir," he said.
Responding to another question about Bilawal raising the issue of revocation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir, Jaishankar said "Wake up and smell the coffee. Article 370 is history." On the Pakistan Foreign Minister's statement that "peace is destiny", he said, "Whether peace is destiny or not, terrorism is not destiny."
In March this year, Bilawal accepted there are no takers of its Kashmir agenda at the United Nations Security Council. He also said Pakistan has failed to get any traction or support for its agenda from the wider UN membership.
"Islamabad faces an 'uphill task' to get the Kashmir issue into the 'centre' of the agenda of the United Nations," he had said. India has previously criticised China and Pakistan for their unwarranted references to the Indian Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. "We have consistently rejected such statements and all parties concerned are well aware of our clear position on these matters.