Sino-Indian border standoff: Qureshi says Delhi threatening regional peace
by Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday accused New Delhi of “threatening regional peace” through its “aggressive behaviour” as tensions soared between China and India as their border patrols faced off on at least four different locations in the past month.
“India’s intentions do not appear good,” said Qureshi while speaking to a private media outlet. “They have already triggered the [occupied] Kashmir front […] the world is well aware of its hostile attitude towards Nepal [on border issue],” he said, adding that New Delhi was also sabotaging peace in war-torn Afghanistan.
The foreign minister chastised India for flaring up tensions by executing the construction of roads and airstrips in territory that was historically disputed between the two countries. “A war was fought [between India and China] in 1962 and again, India is resorting to aggressive posturing in the same territory,” he said.
Qureshi urged the Indian government to exhibit responsible behavior and resolve bilateral issues through dialogue with the neighbor it shares the world’s largest unmarked border with.
Commenting on India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with the National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and tri-services chiefs on the said issue, Qureshi said that it remains to be seen what India’s intentions in the region were.
“Pakistan has said this over and over again. I have said this to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and written letters to the UN Security Council (UNSC) that India is threatening regional peace through its aggressive behavior,” he said.
SINO-INDIAN STANDOFF INTENSIFIES:
The standoff between India and China at the disputed eastern Laddakh border area intensified a few days ago with Indian media reports claiming both sides have increased their troops in the area.
As per a report by The Print, Beijing has also beefed up security on its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC)by locating an estimated 1,200 to 1,300 troops near the Pangong Lake.
The report, citing sources, said that Chinese soldiers moved into the “finger areas” of Pangong Lake whilst it bolstered its troop strength at the LAC. “The Pangong Lake’s northern bank juts forward like a palm, and the various protrusions are identified as “fingers” to demarcate territory.”
Sources had further said that while the Chinese soldiers maintained that they remained within their borders, they did, however, believe that 3 km within India’s perception of the LAC was crossed.