A top-level Taliban delegation visiting China assured China the group will not allow Afghanistan to be used as a base for plotting against another country, an insurgent spokesman said Wednesday.
The delegation of Taliban is in China for talks with Beijing officials, spokesman Mohammad Naeem told AFP, as the insurgents continue a sweeping offensive across Afghanistan — including areas along their shared border.
Despite the fact that their border is only 76 kilometres (47 miles) long and runs through a rocky high altitude with no road crossing, Beijing is concerned that Afghanistan could be used as a staging ground for Uyghur rebels in Xinjiang.
“The Islamic Emirate assured China that Afghanistan’s soil would not be used against any country’s security,” Naeem said.
“They (China) promised not to interfere in Afghanistan’s affairs, but instead help to solve problems and bring peace.”
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In recent months, Taliban officials have stepped up their international diplomacy, hoping to gain worldwide recognition for when they hope to reclaim power.
Since May, when US-led foreign soldiers began the final part of a pullout set to end next month, they have achieved significant gains across Afghanistan.
In 2019, Beijing received a Taliban delegation, but the rebels had had back-door connections with Pakistan for far longer.
Although Beijing’s Communist Party and the Taliban’s fundamentalist Taliban have nothing in common ideologically, observers believe that shared pragmatism might see mutual self-interest transcend delicate disagreements.
A secure and cooperative government in Kabul would allow Beijing to expand its Belt and Road Initiative into Afghanistan and through the Central Asian countries.
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Meanwhile, the Taliban would see China as a vital source of investment and financial support.
“China can deal with the Taliban… but they still find the Taliban’s religious agenda and motivations inherently discomforting,” Andrew Small, author of “The China-Pakistan Axis”, told AFP earlier this month.
“They have never been sure how willing or able the Taliban really are to enforce agreements on issues such as harbouring Uyghur militants.”
So far, the Taliban have taken control of a number of districts, border crossings, and the encirclement of numerous provincial capitals.
Even as the insurgents tighten a noose around the cities, government forces have abandoned some rural districts without a fight. However, they are digging in to defend provincial capitals.
Rights groups have accused the rebels of carrying out atrocities in areas under their control, such as the border town of Spin Boldak, where Afghan police say Taliban forces killed about 100 civilians.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the hardline organisation, leads a nine-member Taliban mission in China.
