Pakistan, Afghanistan officials meet in Urumqi for China-brokered talks
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghan Taliban officials met in China’s Urumqi on Wednesday for a new round of talks brokered by China.
Despite 18 rounds of failed talks, the Chinese government has now taken the responsibility of bringing the warring neighbours to peace, but diplomatic circles are showing little optimism for a successful outcome.
According to Afghan sources, the six-member delegation—comprising the Foreign Office’s MuhibullahWaseeq and Abdul HaiQanet, the Ministry of Defence’s Ruhullah Umer, Yahya Takal of the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI), Afghanistan’s national intelligence and security agency, and the Ministry of Interior’s Arifullah—has already departed for China on Wednesday.
Pakistan hasn’t yet announced the names, as Islamabad would later involve special representative for Afghanistan if the talks head onward from the technical level to senior levels, the sources confirmed.
The Pakistani side will also be composed of individuals from the defence and intelligence services and will be led by the head of the Iran and Afghan desk, AsadGillani, who is already in Beijing, having travelled there with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday.
An Afghan source claimed that after successive failed talks and unsuccessful efforts of four Islamic nations, now the Chinese will take the front role in de-escalation between Islamabad and Kabul.
Beijing had already informed Islamabad and Kabul via their special representative that China would act as the guarantor amongst the trust-deficient nations.
“The delegations of the two sides aren’t the same who have already taken part in the talks in Doha, Istanbul and Riyadh, but yes seasoned figures, including from the Afghan side, while Pakistan has named an experienced one, which shows the seriousness of efforts of de-escalation to the Chinese mediators,” a seasoned military source confirmed.
The two sides would first engage on a technical level, as well as official level meetings would be held on Thursday and Friday, the sources added.
“The two sides were asked not to expose information regarding the meeting to the media, but yes, we can confirm that the meeting will be held in Urumqi, China,” the source confirmed.
“The Pakistani side has confirmed that any misadventure from the Afghan side would be considered as an act of aggression, and after assurances from the Afghan side, we have resumed refugees repatriation”, military sources told media.
General R InaamYousafzai told media, “China is a brotherly country, and we welcome such a positive response from Beijing, but the ball is in the court of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan; if they actually act wisely, we as Muslim countries don’t need any mediators.”
“I personally doubted the assessment that the Chinese would take any serious measures or success on the Afghan Chapter, as Afghans believe in negative relevance, mindset,” General Inaam added.
The development came as Dar departed from China after concluding his one-day official visit, meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. He travelled after hosting a meeting of foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Egypt as part of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
However, sources said that Pakistan acknowledged China’s sincere efforts to defuse the crisis, it made clear that a return to normal diplomatic engagement with Kabul was not possible without tangible changes on the ground.
Pakistani authorities conveyed to the Chinese side that Islamabad had already exhausted all diplomatic avenues before adopting its current policy toward the Taliban government.
According to officials familiar with the discussions, Taliban authorities reiterated to the Chinese envoy their longstanding position that the TTP issue was Pakistan’s “internal problem,” while maintaining that Afghan territory was not being used against neighbouring countries. Staff Report
