RASC News Agency: Daily Times reports that China is intensifying its diplomatic efforts to ease growing tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan. This follows the recent visit of China’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Yu Shaoyong, to Islamabad and Kabul. According to the newspaper’s report on Tuesday, November 26th, Beijing has launched a new round of diplomatic initiatives aimed at addressing the dispute between the Taliban and Pakistan over the presence of militant safe havens in Afghanistan under Taliban control.
The report states that after meeting with Pakistani officials in Islamabad, Yu Shaoyong held discussions with senior Taliban leaders, including Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the Taliban’s deputy political prime minister; Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, the acting minister of defense; and Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister. The Taliban has stated that relations between Islamabad and Kabul were among the primary issues addressed during these talks. Sources, who were not named in the report, claimed that Pakistan emphasized to the Chinese envoy that improvements in relations with the Taliban would not be possible without addressing the threat of “terrorism.”
Yu Shaoyong’s recent trips to Islamabad and Kabul are part of Beijing’s broader efforts to defuse tensions between the Pakistani government and the Taliban. The continued presence of “terrorist” sanctuaries in Afghanistan is a growing concern for China, with Beijing viewing it as a direct threat. In addition, attacks by the Baloch Liberation Army on Chinese citizens in Pakistan have surged to unprecedented levels in recent months. Pakistani authorities allege that Baloch militants are collaborating with the Pakistani Taliban, with training camps operating in Taliban-controlled areas of Afghanistan. These claims, however, have been consistently denied by the Taliban.
