By Catherine Wong
August 06, 2021"Information
Clearing House" - "SCMP"
China has pledged support for the
Taliban’s role in Afghanistan’s reconstruction,
while demanding that it cuts ties with the East
Turkestan Islamic Movement – blamed by Beijing
for attacks in its Xinjiang region.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remarks during
talks with a nine-member delegation led by the
Taliban’s chief negotiator and co-founder Mullah
Abdul Ghani Baradar in the northern city of
Tianjin on Wednesday.
It was the first time a senior member of the
organisation had visited China since the
Taliban’s capture of several key districts in
Badakhshan and Kandahar provinces. Taliban
fighters have taken control of around half the
country up to its border with the Chinese region
of Xinjiang, and US air strikes continue to
support Afghan security forces.
Wang said the withdrawal of US and Nato troops
from Afghanistan represented a failure of US
policies and called on the Taliban to push for a
role in the peace process.
“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,” Wang said,
according to a foreign ministry statement.
Wang said China would support Afghanistan’s
sovereignty and territorial integrity, but he also
demanded the Taliban cut off any connection with the
East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).
“ETIM is an international terrorist organisation
listed by the UN Security Council and poses a direct
threat to China’s national security and territorial
integrity,” Wang said.
“Fighting ETIM is the common responsibility of the
international community and I hope the Afghanistan
Taliban will cut ties with terror groups such as
ETIM. The Afghanistan Taliban can contribute to an
effective crackdown against those groups and play an
active role in regional stability and development.”
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