Pahalgam attack: China urges India, Pak to exercise restraint, US calls for 'responsible resolution'

Security officials and survivors have said the terrorists segregated the men at the site, a meadow in the Pahalgam area, asked their names and targeted Hindus before shooting them at close range.

New Delhi: As the April 22 terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir once again escalated tension between New Delhi and Islamabad, China on Monday asked India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, while the United States called for a “responsible resolution” to diffuse tension between the two South Asian nations.

A day after supporting Islamabad’s call for an impartial probe into New Delhi’s allegations about “cross-border linkages” of the carnage at Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam in J&K, China suggested that India and Pakistan should meet each other halfway and maintain peace in the region.

The US also stated that it encouraged “all parties” to work together towards a “responsible resolution”.

“This is an evolving situation, and we are monitoring developments closely. We have been in touch with the governments of India and Pakistan at multiple levels," a US State Department spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement.

"The United States encourages all parties to work together towards a responsible resolution," the spokesperson was quoted by Reuters.

The terrorists owing allegiance to The Resistance Force, an affiliate of the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, sneaked into India from areas under illegal occupation of Pakistan and killed 26 people, mostly tourists, at the picturesque meadow near Pahalgam in J&K.

“China welcomes all measures that are conducive to cooling down the current situation and supports an impartial investigation as soon as possible,” Guo Jiakun, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Government, said on Monday.

“As a common neighbour of India and Pakistan, China hopes that both sides will exercise restraint, meet each other halfway, properly handle relevant differences through dialogue and consultation, and jointly maintain regional peace and stability.”

India responded to the latest carnage in J&K by putting in abeyance its 65-year-old Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan, shutting down the Integrated Check Post at Attari-Wagah border between the two countries, revoking visas issued to citizens of Pakistan to visit India, and further downgrading bilateral diplomatic relations. New Delhi also expelled Pakistan’s three military officers posted as diplomats at its high commission in the capital of India.

Islamabad also retaliated with similar measures against New Delhi, including putting in abeyance the 1972 Simla Agreement and all other bilateral pacts.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that his government was open to participating in any neutral investigation into India’s allegations about his country’s role in the terrorist attack. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi extended support to this demand during a phone call with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.