ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China hav1e once again taken cognisance of terrorist threats being faced by both countries from inside Afghanistan.
In this regard, there was another visit by Chinese Special Representative Ambassador Yue Xiaoyong and his delegation to Islamabad. Hue Xiaoying has made multiple trips to Islamabad and was last here in March this year while also visiting Kabul as part of a mediation mission to ease border and security tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
During his latest visit on Monday, he held a delegation level meeting with Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, and officials from the Foreign Office. While there was no statement from the Foreign Office, Ambassador Sadiq commented on X, “I welcomed Chinese Special Representative Ambassador Yue Xiaoyong and his delegation to Islamabad for productive discussions on regional security and latest developments. We exchanged views on the threats posed by TTP and ETIM operating from Afghan soil and agreed to strengthen bilateral coordination and deepen cooperation to counter terrorist threats and safeguard regional peace, security and stability.” The two sides met at a time when Pakistan has been reeling under attacks from the TTP with Islamabad striking inside Afghanistan with precision strikes on TTP bases. Earlier this year also saw Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi meeting in Beijing with China praising Pakistan for what it described as “comprehensive counterterrorism measures” and for protecting Chinese citizens and projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
In a joint statement, both Pakistan and China called for more “visible and verifiable” steps to eliminate terrorist organisations based in Afghanistan and prevent Afghan territory from being used for militancy against any country. The two countries said, “Terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan continue to pose serious threats to regional and global security and stressed the need to prevent them from using Afghan soil to carry out attacks against other countries.”
China continued with efforts on terrorism emanating from Afghanistan when it hosted talks in Urumqi between Pakistani and Afghan officials to negotiate ceasefires and manage border safety, but the Afghan regime failed to restrain the TTP. For China, the imminent terrorist threat from inside Afghanistan is the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), and also stability would help regional connectivity projects and security personnel linked to the Belt and Road Initiative and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
