Islamabad recognizes Beijing’s efforts to reduce tension; Says policy change unlikely without verifiable guarantees
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo: Archive
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan has politely told China that it will continue its current policy of non-engagement with the Taliban regime, citing Kabul’s failure to change its stance on the presence of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil.
The response effectively means that Islamabad has rejected the latest diplomatic effort by Beijing, a close ally, aimed at easing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
China recently stepped up its diplomatic engagement by sending its special envoy on Afghanistan to both Kabul and Islamabad as part of a broader effort to calm simmering tensions between the two neighbors.
According to a statement issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Foreign Minister Wang Yi also had a telephone conversation with Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi to discuss the situation.
China’s Foreign Ministry said its special envoy for Afghanistan was currently traveling between Afghanistan and Pakistan in an effort to mediate. “China hopes that both sides will remain calm and exercise restraint, hold face-to-face talks as soon as possible, achieve a ceasefire at an early date, and resolve disputes and differences through dialogue,” the statement said.
Beijing also reiterated that it is willing to continue making active efforts to facilitate reconciliation and ease tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Sources aware of the developments told The Express PAkGazette that while Pakistan acknowledged China’s sincere efforts to defuse the crisis, it made it clear that a return to normal diplomatic engagement with Kabul was not possible without tangible changes on the ground.
According to sources, the Pakistani authorities informed the Chinese side that Islamabad had already exhausted all diplomatic avenues before adopting its current policy towards the Taliban government.
Pakistan, the sources said, had raised its concerns through bilateral channels, as well as through friendly countries, in a bid to address what it described as the long-standing problem of the Taliban regime hosting the TTP and other militant groups.
However, sources here said meetings between the Chinese envoy and Pakistani officials led Islamabad to conclude that Taliban leaders had not altered their position.
According to officials familiar with the discussions, Taliban authorities reiterated to the Chinese envoy their long-held position that the TTP issue was an “internal issue” of Pakistan, while maintaining that Afghan territory was not being used against neighboring countries.
Pakistani officials rejected that claim, citing what they described as ample evidence, including United Nations Security Council reports, which they say corroborate Islamabad’s position regarding the presence and activities of TTP terrorists in Afghanistan.
Under these circumstances, Pakistan conveyed to Beijing that there was little scope for meaningful diplomatic progress unless Kabul took concrete steps to address Islamabad’s concerns.
In his weekly press briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi confirmed that Pakistan would maintain its current policy towards Afghanistan despite calls from some friendly countries for it to engage with the Taliban authorities.
“As for the situation in Afghanistan, the situation remains the same. We have strongly communicated to Afghanistan and our interlocutors that we need verifiable assurances from the Afghan side that its territory will not be used for terrorism against Pakistan,” Andrabi said while responding to a question on mediation efforts.
“Since those assurances have not been received, we will continue with our current policy with respect to that country,” he added.
However, it is believed that while Pakistan maintains its general stance, the possibility of a temporary pause in hostilities during Eid has not been ruled out.
