A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Pakistan a “mothership of terrorism”, China on Monday strongly defended its all-weather ally, saying it is against linking any country or religion with terror and asked the world community to acknowledge Pakistan’s “great sacrifices”.

In a sharp reaction to a question about Modi’s characterisation of Pakistan at the BRICS Summit in Goa, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Hua Chunying said China is opposed to linking any country to terrorism.

Answering a question on Modi’s criticism of Islamabad in aiding and abetting terror groups opposed to India, she said “on counter-terrorism, China’s position is consistent”. “It is the same way we oppose linking terrorism with any specific country or religion,” she said. “We oppose terrorism in all forms and we believe that international concerted efforts are needed to ensure stability and security of all countries,” she said.

“We oppose linking terrorism with any specific ethnicity or religion. This is our long-standing position. China and Pakistan are all-weather friends.”

Noting that India and Pakistan are “all victims of terrorism”, she said Islamabad has made “great sacrifice to combat terrorism and this needs to be recognised by the international community”.

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