India-Pak tension: ADB says stability is the basis for peace, prosperity; watching South Asia developments

Milan: The Asian Development Bank (ADB), which backs sovereign and private sector development projects in the Asia-Pacific region, said it regretted the loss of lives amid rising India-Pakistan tensions and that stability is central to peace and prosperity.

"We are closely watching the developments in South Asia and regret the loss of life overnight. Stability is the basis for peace, development, and prosperity everywhere. Throughout its 58-year history, ADB has helped foster friendship and stability among countries in Asia and the Pacific through various regional cooperation initiatives," an ADB spokesperson said in response to a query from Mint on Wednesday.

India launched a retaliatory strike on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir early Wednesday, two weeks after the barbaric Pahalgam attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered. The defence ministry said ‘Operation Sindoor’ hit nine sites and was “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature.”

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Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said in a social media post that the Indian military strike was a “heinous act of aggression,” which would not go unpunished.

China called on India and Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint in the “larger interest of peace and stability” in the region, ETV Bharat reported, quoting a PTI dispatch from Beijing.

“We are concerned about the ongoing situation. India and Pakistan are and will always be each other’s neighbours. They are both China’s neighbours as well," the report said, adding that China opposed all forms of terrorism.

Development challenges

Regional stability is central to ADB’s operations as livelihoods and poverty reduction are among its priorities, along with challenges such as climate change, water security, and inequality.

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The multilateral bank offers financial backing and technical support for sustainable, inclusive and resilient growth in the region. It committed $24.3 billion from its own resources and $14.9 billion of co-financing in collaboration with its partners in 2024 to help countries in Asia and the Pacific to solve a range of complex development challenges, data on its website showed.

The Asia-Pacific region is home to about 33% of the world’s extreme poor and an estimated $1.7 trillion per year is needed until 2030 to fill infrastructure gaps, according to ADB.

Extreme poverty is measured by the threshold of $2.15 a day at 2017 purchasing power parity.

The writer is in Milan at the invitation of ADB.