By: Lailuma Noori
Following recent visit of Taliban’s members to China, Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has declared that communication had been exchanged between the two countries prior to the visit.
During the Taliban’s visit to Beijing, the Chinese government has asked the group to return to political settlement and cut their ties with regional and international terrorist groups.
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is anticipating China to play its vital role towards strengthening regional consensus, exerting international pressures on the Taliban group to stop violence, maintaining ceasefire and peace and ending presence of foreign terrorists in Afghanistan.
MoFA in a statement has said Afghanistan welcomed the Chinese government’s stance that was in consonance with the demand of the Afghan government and people.
“We have consistently emphasized that the Taliban’s close ties with regional and international terrorist groups not only prolong the war and bloodshed in Afghanistan, but also pose a serious threat to regional security and stability.”
A statement from the ministry said: “We also commend the Chinese government’s efforts to persuade the Taliban to end the violence, prioritise Afghanistan’s national interests, and uphold their commitments to comprehensive peace.”
China hoped Taliban would create a clear line with terrorist groups including Turkistan Islamic Movement to effectively suppress the group. Beijing is concerning over increasing violence and presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan. Uyghur Muslims are living in Xinjiang of China. Most Uyghur Muslim groups are active inside and outside the China raising their voice against the Chinese government. The Uyghur Muslim groups are linking with Daesh, Taliban, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, Haqqani network and other terrorist groups operating in the region.
China is concerning that Uyghurs with the help of other terrorist groups in the region will pose threat to Beijing. The Chinese government is perceiving that its relations with the Taliban group can at least reduce threat of terrorist activities of Uyghurs in the region. Therefore, China needed to share its concern with the Taliban as an insurgent group.
But what is very important is that the China’s vision on the development of relations with Afghanistan is economy-oriented. Sustainable peace is the basis for the development of Afghanistan’s relations with its neighbors and the region particularly with China. The country has enough money to provide long-term financial cooperation with poor countries and Afghanistan among these countries.
Beijing recognizes the Afghan government led by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani. Meanwhile, Chinese officials are working closely with Afghan side in monitoring activities of Uyghur fighters in Afghanistan. The Chinese government has expanded its relations with Afghanistan government as relations of the two legal government can result in economic development in the two countries.
China has 76 km border with Afghanistan, which is strategic. With US and NATO troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, fighting has intensified and reached to borders between two countries. Previously, Taliban had repeatedly declared that they would not allow any threat if posed by terrorist groups to the neighboring countries, but there’s no trust in the group’s commitment as Taliban has recently proven that they have not changed.
