Pakistan, China agree to deepen trade, investments, maintain close communication, says report

Pakistan on Wednesday said that it had agreed to deepen trade and investment with China, days after the end of a deadly conflict with India that Beijing urged should be resolved through dialogue.

Arch rivals India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on 10 May, after four days of fighting, the worst in nearly three decades. Tensions escalated between the nuclear-armed neighbours after a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam district on 22 April killed 26 men.

The announcement comes in the backdrop of Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar meeting his counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on Tuesday, news agency Reuters reported.

Dar is the first high-level Pakistani official to visit China after India carried out precision strikes under 'Operation Sindoor' on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on 7 May after the Pahalgam attack.

Dar's meeting with the Chinese counterpart

According to a PTI report, Dar briefed Wang about the latest situation and Pakistan's considerations since Pakistan and India reached an understanding to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Besides Wang, Dar also met Liu Jianchao, the influential Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC), and discussed issues arising out of the India-Pakistan military conflict besides New Delhi's decision to keep the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.

China on Tuesday called for a “comprehensive and lasting ceasefire” between India and Pakistan, urging both countries to properly handle their differences through dialogue.

“China welcomes and supports Pakistan and India to properly handle their differences through dialogue, achieve a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire and seek fundamental solutions,” Wang told Dar in Beijing, state run Xinhua news agency reported.

Wang told Dar that China will support Pakistan in safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry.

Apart from maintaining close communication, the two countries agreed to more cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, industrialisation and other sectors, Pakistan's foreign ministry said.

India-Pakistan conflict

Tensions soared after the Indian Armed Forces on the intervening night of 6 and 7 May conducted precision strikes, under Operation Sindoor, targeting terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the Pahalgam attack on 22 April by terrorists, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.

In the early hours of 7 May, Pakistan began heavy shelling across the LoC in Poonch, increasing the intensity of unprovoked firing in Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Medhar and Rajouri sectors of Jammu and Kashmir.

On 8 May, the Indian armed forces targeted Pakistan's air defence radars and systems at several locations, in which the air defence system in Lahore was neutralised.

On the intervening night of 8 and 9 May, Pakistan had launched a series of coordinated drone and missile attacks along India's western border, targeting 26 locations. Defence officials said the attacks were intercepted by India's air defence systems, including the S-400 missile defence system, preventing significant damage.

Then, for the third consecutive day, on the intervening night of 9 and 10 May, Pakistan violated Indian airspace by launching drones at several locations. Pakistan had also resorted to cross-border firing and shelling along the LoC and the International Border.

On the morning of 10 May, India carried out strikes at four airbases in Pakistan. Precision strikes were carried out on Pakistani military targets in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, and Chunian, as well as radar sites at Pasrur and Sialkot aviation bases, using air-launched weapons from Indian fighter jets, the Indian Army said.

By the evening of 10 May, India and Pakistan decided to stop firing and military action on land and in the air from 5 pm, an agreement that Pakistan violated later that night.

(With inputs from agencies)