Afghanistan: Taliban delegation meets Chinese officials in China

Kabul | An Afghan Taliban delegation in China met with the Chinese foreign minister and senior officials in Chinese diplomacy, a spokesman for the insurgents, one of that delegation’s members, told AFP on Wednesday.

During the two-day visit that began on Tuesday, the nine-member delegation headed by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the No. 2 Taliban chief, held “separate meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister and Special Representative,” the Afghanistan spokesperson said. Muhammad Naeem.

He did not specify the location of the meetings in China.

Muhammad Naeem said in a message to AFP in Kabul that the Taliban “assures China that Afghan territory will not be used against the security of any country.”

He added that Chinese officials “promised not to interfere in Afghan affairs, but on the contrary to help solve problems and achieve peace.”

The Taliban’s lightning-fast invasion of vast swaths of Afghan territory in less than three months, during an all-out offensive, worries especially Afghanistan’s neighbors, while the final withdrawal of international forces, which have been in the country for 20 years, is now. Almost full.

Afghan forces, who have so far offered little resistance, basically control, with the exception of Kabul, only the provincial capitals and major major hubs, raising fears of a Taliban return to power.

The Taliban regime (1996-2001), based on a strict interpretation of Islamic rules, was overthrown nearly 20 years ago by an international coalition led by the United States, after it refused to extradite the al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin. Laden, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

Peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan authorities, which began in September in Doha, have seen no progress so far.