Chinese foreign ministry says special envoy for Afghanistan is currently shuttling between two countries to mediate
\n islamabad
\nChinese mediation efforts, including \u200ba message from President Xi Jinping, have helped ease the worst fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan since \u200cthe Taliban returned to power in 2021, three Pakistani government officials said.
\nThe officials said a meeting between the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif late last month included a message from Xi to cease hostilities.
\nNeither side has reported any Pakistani air strikes on \u200bAfghanistan in recent days and ground fighting along the 2,600-kilometre border has tapered off, although daily clashes continue \u200bto be reported.
\nChina has said it is in contact with both countries about ending hostilities but Mosharraf Zaidi, the prime minister\u2019s spokeperson for foreign media, who has previously said there would not be any talks with the Taliban, did \u200bnot respond to questions about Beijing\u2019s efforts.
\nPakistani security officials have said the military campaign will continue until desired goals were achieved, \u200bwhich was to prevent terrorist attacks in the country launched from Afghan soil.
\nThe Foreign Office and military did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
\nIslamabad launched air strikes on Afghanistan on February 26, saying the Taliban were providing a safe haven to terrorists carrying out attacks in Pakistan. \u200bKabul denies the charge and says terrorism in Pakistan is an internal problem.
\nThe Chinese efforts came as Qatar, Saudi Arabia \u200band Turkiye, who hosted talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan during previous clashes in October, have been embroiled in the war in the Middle \u200cEast following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
\n\u201cChina\u2019s special envoy for Afghanistan affairs is currently shuttling between the two countries to mediate, while Chinese embassies in both nations maintain close communication with the respective parties,\u201d the Chinese foreign ministry told Reuters in an e-mail.
\n\u201cThe most urgent task is to prevent the fighting from expanding and for the two countries to return to the negotiating \u200btable as soon as possible.\u201d
\nThe \u200bforeign ministry added that Foreign Minister Wang Yi held telephone talks with Deputy Prime Minister and FM Ishaq Dar on Tuesday to discuss the conflict.
\nChina\u2019s ambassador to Kabul, Zhao Xing, and the special envoy \u200bYue Xiaoyong met Afghanistan\u2019s acting FM Amir Khan Muttaqi this week, the Afghan foreign \u200bministry said in a statement.
\nAfghanistan and Pakistan have said they inflicted heavy damage on the other in the conflict and killed hundreds of opposition troops, without providing evidence. Reuters has not been able to verify the reports. Beijing, a longtime Pakistani ally, has invested heavily in mines and minerals \u200bin both nations.
\nThe investments include over $65 billion in road, rail and other \u200bdevelopment projects in Pakistan, part of Beijing\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative to expand land and sea trade routes to Europe and Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chinese foreign ministry says special envoy for Afghanistan is currently shuttling between two countries to mediate islamabad Chinese mediation efforts, including \u200ba message from President Xi Jinping, have helped ease the worst fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan since \u200cthe Taliban returned to power in 2021, three Pakistani government officials said. The officials said a meeting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-536227","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n