'Not familiar with the matter': Beijing denies role of Chinese jets amid India’s strikes in Pakistan

China, the all-weather ally of Islamabad, appeared to distance itself amid the escalating border tensions between India and Pakistan, asserting it had no knowledge of reports suggesting involvement of Chinese jets after India hit hit terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK, reported Reuters.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, while speaking at a regular media briefing in Beijing, said they were "not familiar with the matter", when asked whether Chinese jets were involved in the India-Pakistan conflict.

On Wednesday, China called on India and Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint in the "larger interest of peace and stability" of the region and said it will play a "constructive role" in easing the tensions by working with the international community.

"We are concerned about the ongoing situation. India and Pakistan are and will always be each other’s neighbours. They’re both China’s neighbours as well," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing here, reacting to India’s air strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack.

"China opposes all forms of terrorism. We urge both sides to act in the larger interest of peace and stability, remain calm, exercise restraint, and refrain from taking actions that may further complicate the situation," he said.

On the air strikes, he said, “China finds India’s military operation early this morning regrettable.” Asked about India's assertion that it targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK, Lin said the international community is following closely what is going on between India and Pakistan.

“China is committed to promoting talks for peace and keeping the region peaceful and stable. We also noted that both India and Pakistan said they don’t hope to see an escalation of the situation.

“We hope India and Pakistan will remain calm, exercise restraint, work in the same direction, and handle differences properly through dialogue and consultation,” he said, reiterating that China stands ready to continue playing a constructive role in easing the current tensions.

Since the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan and China have stepped up diplomatic contacts during the past few days.

On Wednesday, Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong met Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar “to discuss the current tense situation between Pakistan and India.” During the meeting, Dar briefed the Chinese ambassador on India's military strikes on targets within Pakistani territory in the morning, as well as Pakistan's response, a press release posted by the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan said.

Jiang earlier met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari.

On April 27, Dar called China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, over the phone and briefed him on the situation.

In his talks with Dar, Wang said that China is closely following the developments. He said that combating terrorism is a shared responsibility of the whole world, and China supports an impartial investigation as soon as possible, as the conflict does not serve the fundamental interests of either India or Pakistan, nor does it contribute to regional peace and stability.