China's foreign ministry on Tuesday defended Pakistan, saying that the latter was leading the fight against terrorism in the South Asian region.
Indirectly rubbishing US President Donald Trump's assertion that Islamabad is not doing enough to combat terrorism emanating from its soil, the spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry, Hua Chunying said Pakistan was on the front line in the struggle against terrorism and had made "great sacrifices" and "important contributions" in the fight.
"We believe that the international community should fully recognise Pakistan's anti-terrorism," the Express Tribune further quoted her, as saying at her daily news briefing.
"We are happy to see Pakistan and the United States carry out anti-terror cooperation on the basis of mutual respect, and work together for security and stability in the region and world."
Earlier, the United States had said that it could no longer be silent about Pakistan's "safe havens" for militants and warned Islamabad had much to lose by continuing to "harbour terrorists".
Trump on Monday committed the United States to an open-ended conflict in Afghanistan, signalling he would dispatch more troops to America's longest war and vowing "a fight to win".
Trump insisted that others - the Afghan government, Pakistan, India and NATO allies - step up their own commitment to resolving the 16-year conflict, but he saved his sharpest words for Pakistan.
"We hope the relevant US policies can help promote the security, stability and development of Afghanistan and the region," Hua said.
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