The April 22nd terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam (Jammu and Kashmir) which killed over 27 people caught India unaware. The perpetrators were terrorists from across the border in Pakistan who possibly were hiding in the forests in proximity waiting for an opportune moment to strike.
India has garnered a lot of support from across the globe condemning this attack. However, the biggest challenge is China not just coming out in support of Pakistan on this incident – demanding a transparent probe but also saying that they will support Pakistan if India were to attack.
“Pakistan is an Iron-clad brother and we will support them for an impartial probe. The attack may be initiated by anyone rather than the government of Pakistan,” said Dr Victor Gao, former translator of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. He is also Vice President for Center for China and Globalisation.
Beijing has reaffirmed its support for protecting Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
China has been actively bolstering the defence capabilities of the Pakistani army along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir over the past few years which includes the construction of steelhead bunkers and the provision of Unmanned Aerial and Combat Aerial Vehicles.
China has also installed highly encrypted communication towers and laying underground fibre cables along the Line of Control (LoC).
China has done all this and more to safeguard their investments in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, particularly on the $46 billion ‘China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’ or ‘CPEC’.
On the other hand, India’s economic growth and enhanced trade ties with the U.S. is likely to have caused a lot of discomfort to China who are challenged with tariffs from the U.S. and loosing out on manufacturing -which is shifting to India.
“China will never kneel to the US. There is a sense of determination in Beijing that it is the U.S. that needs to have an end of the trade war. China is fully prepared to fight to the very end because the world is big enough, the US is not the totality of the market in the world,” Gao added.
Meanwhile, a few days back Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, had admitted that they supported terrorist groups for three decades and acknowledged that Pakistan was involved in “dirty work” of the West. He described it as a mistake.
Meanwhile, the four terrorists who fired head-shots on Indian men in Pahalgam on April 22nd are still at large. India has taken measures to diplomatically downgrade Pakistan and also suspended the Indus Water Treaty. However, its biggest concern will continue to be China’s uncanny support for Pakistan in believing them and supporting them in what they call a ‘impartial probe’ in addition to being on their side if there was any military escalation.