Pahalgam terror attack: Dealing with China

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s remarks during a telephone talk with his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, on Sunday are not surprising but rather deplorable. Any Indian can expect such a kind of response from a country like China and its leaders, who have shown animosity towards India for the last seven decades.

As reported in the Chinese mouthpiece, Xinhua, Wang Yi emphasised that “combating terrorism is a shared responsibility of the whole world while reaffirming China’s consistent support for Pakistan’s firm counterterrorism efforts." He stated, “As an ironclad friend and an all-weather strategic cooperative partner, China fully understands Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns and supports Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty and security interests." He noted, “China advocates for a swift and fair investigation and believes that conflict does not serve the fundamental interests of either India or Pakistan nor does it benefit regional peace and stability.” Wang added that “China hopes both sides will remain restrained, move toward each other, and work together to de-escalate the situation.”

The same China that condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attacks a day after, on 23 April 2025, changed its colour like a chameleon. Beijing has deliberately done it in the past and continues to do it right now to save its lackey (Pakistan) from India’s wrath. While the Chinese Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, and Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, condemned the terrorist attacks five days ago, their boss, Wang Yi, did a U-turn and, as usual, shed crocodile tears for Pakistan.

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For the kind information of leaders like Wang and his country, the dastardly terrorist killing of over two dozen innocent civilians did not happen in Pakistan but in Pahalgam in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on the fateful day, 22 April 2025. Hence, the question of extending “consistent support” to Pakistan for counterterrorism efforts should not arise here. Instead, he should have supported India’s war against the terror ecosystem.

Further, Wang is neither authorised nor qualified to advocate for a “swift and fair investigation” of the 22/4 attacks. China, a compulsive oppressor and serial human rights offender in the occupied territories of Xinjiang and Tibet, killing and incarcerating millions of innocent civilians in the last seven decades, should stop lecturing others. Instead, Wang should advise, even caution, Pakistan to refrain from the continuous cross-border terrorist activities, or else Islamabad will reap its consequences.

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The Pahalgam attack is an utterly inhuman terrorist act, condemned by all across the globe, and it will be dealt with with an iron fist. Both Pakistan and China, or any other nation, must remember that India is capable enough to find the perpetrators and their sponsors and bring them to justice. The process has started, and many more stern actions are to follow in the coming times, which our rogue neighbour will remember forever. Pakistan should be prepared for the worst to come.

Chinese perfidy against India is not new but decades old. Starting from the forcible occupation of Indian territory in the mid-1950s and 1960s (Aksai Chin, Shaksgam Valley, etc.) to a war in 1962 and mindless incursions into Indian territory, both in its eastern and western flanks, China has been trying to torment India left and right. The Chinese attack in Galwan in June 2020 that led to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers is one more example of Chinese treachery.

Beijing’s unflinching support for Pakistan clearly shows that China, the so-called votary against any form of terrorism, not only harbours terrorists but also supports a terrorist state. For example, in the last 10 years, China has repeatedly blocked India’s listing proposals at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1267 sanctions committee to designate Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.

Azhar, who was reportedly close to former Taliban leader Mullah Omar and al-Qaeda head Osama Bin Laden, was the founder of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). This group still operates and perpetrates attacks, sometimes using the names Afzal Guru Squad, Al-Murabitoon and Tehreek-al-Furqan. JeM has masterminded several terrorist attacks in India, including the Pulwama attacks in February 2019 that led to the killing of 40 Indian security personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Beijing blocked the aforesaid UNSC resolution for the first time in 2009, months after India moved the proposal in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. In 2016, China placed a technical hold on India’s move thrice, first after February 2016, following the terrorist attacks in Pathankot (October 2016). Again, in December 2016, China used its veto power to block India’s bid just a day before its technical hold ended. Following a proposal by the US, the UK and France on 19 January 2017 to designate Azhar as a terrorist, China once again clamped a technical hold and blocked the proposal in November 2017. Beijing repeated the same in March 2019 following the Pulwama attack.

Most recently, China, too, took advantage of being one of the five permanent members of the UNSC, along with Pakistan, which is a non-permanent member of the UNSC right now, to tamper with the original draft of the UNSC condemning the Pahalgam attacks, supported by the US, that called for “international cooperation with the Government of India”. Due to a Chinese conspiracy, the UNSC changed the language and called for nations to “cooperate with relevant authorities”.

Beijing must remember that New Delhi has never interfered in the internal affairs of China but has rather vociferously criticised whenever there have been any terrorist attacks in China. Beijing should mind its own business instead of poking its dirty nose in the internal affairs of a sovereign country like India. It should also not support Pakistan-sponsored terrorist activities across borders.

Further, China must not lose sight of the humility and generosity shown by India six months ago to renew bilateral relations, which, after a four-year hiatus, began during the BRICS Summit in Kazan last October (2024). The Chinese should not forget the colossal economic loss they had to bear during the past four years because of strained ties with India. As a sovereign nation-state and responsible global power, it should campaign against global threats like terrorism.

Mahesh Ranjan Debata teaches at the Center for Inner Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.