#Pulwama: Stop blaming Pakistan and China, Chinese media tells India
An opinion piece in Global Times, a tabloid affiliated to Communist Party of China's (CPC) mouthpiece, People's Daily, asked India to not "blame" Pakistan or China for Pulwama terror attack, and instead take steps to counter terrorism. The article "advised" India to share proofs and not direct anger towards China for being adverse to its cause. Pulwama was also referred to as "India-administered Kashmir".
On February 14, a CRPF convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway was attacked by a suicide car bomber and 40 army personnel were martyred. Soon, Jaish-e-Mohammed, led by Masood Azhar, claimed responsibility for the attack. The outfit also released a video of the terrorist, named Adil Ahmad Dar, in which he spewed venom against India. India took a stern stand against Pakistan asking it to stop helping terrorism.
But for Chinese state media, the proofs and history weren't enough. The piece read: Without solid evidence, India has long accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorist attacks by JeM and other militant groups and China of providing uncritical support for Pakistan. It claimed Beijing and Islamabad aren't India's 'enemies' in fighting terrorism, and also reminded China itself is a victim of such forces.
While India has been trying to declare Masood a UN-designated terrorist, China has laid roadblocks. Even after recent attack, China's stand remained unchanged. On this, the piece said, "As for the issue of listing Azhar, Beijing has reiterated its stand several times that New Delhi should provide solid facts and proofs for banning Azhar." Delhi should take quiet diplomacy's route and not aggressive route, the piece added.
"With the proscription of Azhar becoming a contentious issue that impedes China-India relations, some Chinese scholars advise that China take India's concern more into account. But Liu Zongyi, a senior fellow of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times that India should, first of all, mind its approach," read the article.
To convince readers, Pakistan shares India's interests for fighting terrorism, the article reminded, "Last August for the first time the militaries of India and Pakistan took part in a mega anti-terror drill of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Russia." The piece advised against disrupting such "momentum". Upcoming general elections were also mentioned in the article saying nationalism can be "easily fanned" now.
"Blaming China and Pakistan for the terrorist attack will arouse Indians' anxieties over neighboring countries. A tough stance by the BJP government may help the ruling party win more support. But this will risk anti-terrorism cooperation being sabotaged for the political interests of parties in India," read the article.
With its attempts to show Pakistan is committed to battling terrorism, the Chinese media toed the line. However, not everyone, including the US, feels the same. The White House released a strong-worded message after Pulwama, asking Pakistan to stop housing terrorist outfits and directing it to stop funds of such organizations. US' NSA John Bolton said his country supported India's "right to defense".
