Stable Pak in our interest: China

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao sought to impress upon India that it should contribute to the stability of Pakistan.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Thursday sought to impress upon India that it should contribute to the stability of Pakistan and that an unstable Pakistan was detrimental to both its neighbours India and China.

Wen also brought up Kashmir as among the problems left by history and that the two countries should resolve it through bilateral talks.

Its learnt that Wen held a long conversation on Pakistan with PM Manmohan Singh and other key members of the Indian delegation. He told the Indian side that the situation was delicate in Pakistan and it needed all the support from its neighbours.

India,on its part,agreed that a stable Pakistan was very much in Indias interest but pointed out that the problem was terrorism emanating from Pakistan directed against India. In this context,the Indian side pointed out to the slow trial in the 26/11 case.

Incidentally,as Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao later confirmed,Wen on his own offered sympathies to those killed in the Mumbai attacks.

He,however,did not go beyond that in terms of calling for the perpetrators of the attack to be brought to justice. It was at this point that India reminded the Chinese side about its own commitments under UN Security Council resolutions like 1267,where it is holding up the banning of the Jaish-e-Mohammed.

India conveyed that if China were to play a more balanced and positive role on terrorism,then it would help create a more secure environment in the region. The Chinese side,in turn,said it was fully committed on the issue given that it too is facing this threat.

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Given that Wen is traveling to Islamabad from here,India only hoped that he could use his influence to good effect. As for the deliverable,India at least managed to draw China to commit itself to implement the relevant UNSC resolutions.

Both sides underlined their unequivocal opposition to terrorism… They committed themselves to countering terrorism through joint efforts that include disrupting the financing of terrorism…, the communique stated.

For the first time,Afghanistan also found mention in the communique in the context of regional stability.

India and China,being each others neighbour,have a shared interest in the stability,prosperity and security of the wider region…India and China expressed their commitment to assisting Afghanistan to become a peaceful,stable,prosperous nation. They emphasized the importance of a coherent and united international commitment to Afghan-led initiatives, the communique stated.