ISLAMABAD: China has conveyed India a message of peace from Islamabad andurged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate a dialogue withPakistan to help reduce tensions between the two nuclear-capable nations.
The development comes on the heels of the completion of five-year tenure ofthe Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.
Perhaps, with the departure of the PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, the militarywas eager to commence dialogue with India, reflecting the talks offer camedirectly from the military establishment which had ‘suspected’ NawazSharif’s overtures with Modi.
Indian media also reported on Monday, quoting Chinese Ambassador to NewDelhi Luo Zhaohui, that China has proposed a trilateral dialogue involvingChina, Pakistan and India.
Speaking at a seminar in Delhi, Ambassador Luo Zhaohui said China “cannotstand another Doklam” and pitched a trilateral summit on the sidelines ofthe Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
“We cannot stand another Doklam; we need to control, manage, narrowdifferences through expanding cooperation. The boundary question was leftover by history. We need to find a mutually acceptable solution throughspecial representatives,” said the Chinese envoy.
“Some Indian friends suggested that India, China and Pakistan may have somekind of trilateral summit on the sidelines of the SCO. So, if China, Russiaand Mongolia can have a trilateral summit, then why not India, China andPakistan?” he said, adding that 5Cs would help promote India-China ties,including communication, cooperation, contacts, coordination and control.
Though Ambassador Luo did not elaborate on whether the proposed trilateralmechanism would include Kashmir dispute, the reference to Doklam reflectedhe meant Kashmir as well.