Beijing meeting boosts ties with Taliban leadership
CHINA has pledged its support for the Taliban during Afghanistan’s reconstruction, a major boon for the insurgents as they seek greater international recognition.
Taliban leaders were invited to China’s foreign ministry in Beijing in the militant group’s first official meeting with a foreign government since it launched an offensive in May.
The Taliban is believed to control half of Afghanistan’s 419 districts and 90 per cent of the country’s border crossings.
Peace talks between Taliban officials and the Afghan government have so far proved inconclusive since the two sides first sat down together in Qatar last September, as US troop withdrawals began.
But it is widely understood that to end Afghanistan’s devastating 20-year conflict, which has seen the death of at least 70,000 civilians, the authorities must reach an agreement with the Taliban. The insurgents also demand representation in future governments.
During yesterday’s meeting with the Taliban, China vowed to recognise the group’s sovereignty.
“The Taliban in Afghanistan is a pivotal military and political force in the country, and will play an important role in the process of peace, reconciliation, and reconstruction there,” said Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister.
China, which shares a 47-mile border with Afghanistan, is seeking to boost ties with the group to prevent violence spilling into its Xinjiang province. Taliban officials have promised to cut ties with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a group that China has accused of carrying out attacks in Xinjiang.
Other nations have so far been less forthcoming about engaging with the Taliban publicly, although earlier this month Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, said the UK would be prepared to work with the group if it came to power in Afghanistan.