ISLAMABAD: As diplomatic efforts have been intensified to press for political solution to the Afghan conflict, Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan Deng Xijun arrives in Islamabad on Friday (today) for talks with Pakistani officials, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.
Ambassador Xijun is here to hold follow up talks after Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s visit to Beijing on Dec 25, during which he held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Both sides reiterated strongly support for Afghan-led and Afghan owned peace process.
Speaking to Daily Times, a Taliban militant said China was among the few countries which encouraged the Taliban to hold talks with the US. China has, however, preferred to keep a low profile.
Ambassador Xijun had told this correspondent in a previous interview that China is willing to host Afghan peace talks if the Taliban and the Afghan government are agreed to such a role.
The Taliban militant said talks with the US could be held in other countries besides the UAE; however, no decision has yet been taken. The upcoming round is likely to take place in UAE, the UAE state news agency WAM had reported after a two-day session in Abu Dhabi this month.
US special peace envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad is expected to include China in his next visit as part of his mission to garner support for political solution to the Afghan conflict. The US envoy travelled to Russia this month during his visit to the regional countries.
Foreign Minister Qureshi will also visit Qatar for promoting peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, the foreign office said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said in a meeting with Afghan National Security Adviser, Hamdullah Mohib, Iran and the Taliban are “engaged in negotiations to help settle the existing security problems in Afghanistan,” according to Iranian Tasnim news agency, which is considered the mouthpiece of the Iranian Pasdaran-e-Inquilab (Revolutionary Guards).
“The series of (Iran’s) connections and negotiations with the Taliban have been held with the knowledge of the Afghan government, and this process will proceed,” Shamkhani was quoted as saying.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he was in the process of gathering information about the Iranian official’s remarks.
The talks between the Taliban and American officials in the UAE have apparently further complicated the peace process because of the Taliban’s refusal to meet the representatives of the Afghan government, who travelled to Abu Dhabi to join the meeting that was also attended by officials from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Taliban’s refusal angered Kabul and even the US special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad criticised the militia when he visited Kabul to brief the Afghan leaders about the UAE talks.
Earlier Khalilzad had a brief stop in Pakistan on Dec 19 and a US embassy spokesman issued a statement quoting Khalilzad as having expressed appreciation for “Pakistan’s efforts to encourage the Taliban to negotiate directly with the Afghan government and other senior Afghan political figures to reach a political settlement that ends the war in Afghanistan.”
Qureshi’s visit to regional countries and key stakeholders is seen in the context of efforts to encourage the Taliban sit with the Afghans government as their refusal could harm the US-Taliban interaction which is in its initial stage at the moment.
Pakistan says it has freed two senior Taliban militants on request by Khalilzad as the Taliban are demanding release of prisoners ahead of the beginning of formal talks. But no prisoner has been freed by the US and the Afghan government so for.
On the release of the prisoners, the Taliban told Daily Times that ‘the release of prisoners and exchange has been discussed but no decision has been taken yet. When leadership of both sides approved the understanding then prisoners including Anas Haqqani and many others will be freed’.
Anas Haqqani, a brother of Taliban’s deputy chief Siraj Haqqani, was detained by American security officials after he visited Qatar in October 2014. He had gone to Qatar to meet five Taliban leaders who had been freed from Guantanamo prison.
Published in Daily Times, December 28th 2018.
