China Pledges Support To Taliban For Afghan Reconstruction But Demands Mullahs Sever Ties With East Turkestan Islamic Movement

China has pledged support for the Taliban’s role in Afghanistan’s reconstruction, while demanding that it severs links with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM)– blamed by Beijing for attacks in its Xinjiang region, South China Morning Post reported

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi today (Jul 28) met a nine-member delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, co-founder and political chief of Afghanistan's Taliban, in the northern city of Tianjin. This is for the first time that a senior Taliban leader has visited China since 2019.

Beijing is worried that Uighur extremist movement may get shelter in Emirate of Afghanistan through the Wakhan corridor.

Taliban reportedly assured China that Pakistan-based terror groups and pan-Islamic groups like Al Qaeda will not use the civilian strife in Afghanistan to establish terror training camps for targeting countries opposed to radical Islam.

“The Islamic Emirate assured China that Afghanistan’s soil would not be used against any country’s security. They (China) promised not to interfere in Afghanistan’s affairs, but instead help to solve problems and bring peace,"Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Naeem reiterated.

Naeem said the meetings focused on the political, economic and security issues facing the two nations, as well as the peace process.

Foreign Minister 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.

With U.S announcing its decision to pull out troops from Afghanistan by early September, Taliban militants now have established a strong presence across the country. They control vast swathes of the country including north and north-east and central provinces like Ghazni and Maidan Wardak. Taliban is also said to be closing in on major cities such as Kunduz, Herat, Kandahar and Lashkar Gah.

Afghan government forces mainly hold the cities and districts which are on the plains or in river valleys - which is also where most of the population live.