'War not India's choice,' says Doval while speaking with Chinese FM as he condemns the Pahalgam terror attack, urges for calm

Beijing: In a phone conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval stressed that the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which caused serious casualties among Indian personnel, necessitated counter-terrorism actions, while affirming that "war was not India's choice".

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attack and said China opposes all forms of terrorism, stressing that peace and stability in Asia is hard-won and must be cherished; he urged India and Pakistan--both of whom are China's neighbours--to remain calm, avoid escalation, and resolve differences through dialogue and consultation, while appreciating India's stand that 'war is not its choice'.

"Doval said that the Pahalgam terrorist attack caused serious casualties among Indian personnel and that India needed to take counter-terrorism actions. War was not India's choice and was not in the interests of any party. India and Pakistan would be committed to a ceasefire and look forward to restoring regional peace and stability as soon as possible," the statement read.

The statement further said that China condemned the Pahalgam terror attack.

"Wang Yi said that China condemns the Pahalgam terrorist attack and opposes all forms of terrorism. The current international situation is turbulent and intertwined. Peace and stability in the Asian region is hard-won and deserve to be cherished. India and Pakistan are neighbours that cannot be moved away, and both are neighbours of China," the statement read.

The statement urged both India and Pakistan to resolve the issue through dialogue and diplomacy.

"China appreciates your statement that war is not India's choice, and sincerely hopes that India and Pakistan will remain calm and restrained, properly handle differences through dialogue and consultation, and avoid escalation of the situation. China supports and expects India and Pakistan to achieve a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire through consultations. This is in the fundamental interests of India and Pakistan and is also the common wish of the international community," the statement said.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, India said on Saturday that Pakistan has violated the understanding reached between DGMOs of the two countries earlier in the day on stoppage of firing and military action and that the Indian Army is retaliating and dealing with the border intrusions.

At a special briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said this is a breach of the understanding arrived at earlier today and India takes "very serious note of these violations".