Taliban's Delegation Visiting Beijing For Consultations On Peace, Reconciliation In Afghanistan: China

Afghanistan's Taliban delegation is currently visiting China for consultations with the Chinese officials on the situation in Afghanistan and the process of promoting peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, a Chinese foreign ministry's spokesperson Monday said

BEIJING, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Sep, 2019 ) :Afghanistan's Taliban delegation is currently visiting China for consultations with the Chinese officials on the situation in Afghanistan and the process of promoting peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, a Chinese foreign ministry's spokesperson Monday said.

"Head of the Taliban Political Office in Doha, Mullah Baradar and several of his assistants have recently come to China for consultations. The delegation and officials of the Chinese foreign ministry exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan and the process of promoting peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan," Geng Shuang said during his regular briefing held here.

The Taliban's nine-member delegation led by Mullah Baradar travelled to Beijing on Sunday and met China's special representative for Afghanistan Deng Xijun and discussed peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

The meeting comes after US President Donald Trump's eleventh-hour cancellation earlier this month of the negotiations between his country and the Taliban, which many had hoped would pave the way to a broader peace deal with the Afghan government and ending a 17-year war.

The spokesperson said, China has always paid close attention to the situation in Afghanistan and has always been committed to promoting the process of peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and added it has been in constant contact and communication with all parties involved in the Afghan issue.

The Chinese side has consistently supported the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process of broad and inclusive peace and reconciliation, he added.

Geng Shuang hoped that the United States and Taliban will maintain the momentum of negotiations, support the internal dialogue and negotiations of the Afghans, and achieve national reconciliation and peace and stability at an early date, adding, "China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in this regard." When asked to comment on a statement of Taliban that they will attack polling stations during the presidential elections in Afghanistan, he said, China has consistently supported the process of broad and inclusive peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.

"We certainly hope that Afghanistan can achieve national reconciliation and peace and stability at an early date," he added.

Last week, a negotiating team from the Taliban visited Russia and held consultations with Zamir Kabulov, President Vladimir Putin's envoy for Afghanistan.

It was the Taliban's first international visit following the collapse of talks with Washington. The team was being led by Mullah Sher Mohammad Stanikzai.

Afghanistan will hold this week its fourth presidential elections which have gained importance since the collapse of the peace talks between the Taliban and the US.