Islamabad acknowledges Beijing’s efforts for de-escalation; Says policy shift unlikely without verifiable assurances
Foreign Office. Photo: File
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan has politely told China that it will continue with its existing policy of non-engagement with the Taliban regime, citing Kabul’s failure to change its stance on the presence of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil.
The response effectively means Islamabad has declined the latest diplomatic effort by Beijing, a close ally, aimed at easing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
China recently intensified its diplomatic engagement by dispatching its special envoy on Afghanistan to both Kabul and Islamabad as part of a broader effort to calm the simmering tensions between the two neighbours.
According to a statement issued by China’s Foreign Ministry, Foreign Minister Wang Yi also held 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 on Afghanistan was currently shuttling between Afghanistan and Pakistan in an effort to mediate. “China hopes 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 stands ready to continue making active efforts to facilitate reconciliation and ease tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Sources privy to the development told The Express Tribune that while 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.
According to the sources, Pakistani authorities conveyed to the Chinese side that Islamabad had already exhausted all diplomatic avenues before adopting its current policy toward the Taliban government.
Pakistan, the sources said, had raised its concerns through bilateral channels as well as through friendly countries in an attempt to address what it described as the longstanding problem of the Taliban regime harbouring TTP and other militant groups.
However, sources here said meetings between the Chinese envoy and Pakistani officials led Islamabad to conclude that the Taliban leadership had not altered its position.
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.
Pakistani officials rejected that claim, citing what they described as ample evidence, including reports by the United Nations Security Council, 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 room for meaningful diplomatic progress unless Kabul took concrete steps to address Islamabad’s concerns.
At his weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi confirmed that Pakistan would maintain its current policy toward Afghanistan despite calls from some friendly countries for engagement with the Taliban authorities.
“As regards the situation in Afghanistan, the situation remains the same. We have emphatically communicated to Afghanistan and to our interlocutors that we need verifiable assurances from the Afghan side that their territory would not be used for terrorism against Pakistan,” Andrabi said while responding to a question about mediation efforts.
“Since those assurances have not been received, we will continue with our existing policy with respect to that country,” he added.
Nevertheless, it is believed that while Pakistan sticks to its overall stance, possibility of temporary pause in hostilities during Eid is not ruled out.
