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Exclusive | China should pressure Taliban in 2 ways, Afghanistan’s envoy says
- Ambassador Javid Ahmad Qaem welcomes China’s contact with the Taliban but says its ‘best bet is the government of Afghanistan’
- He proposes two ways in which China’s relations in the region can be used to influence the situation in its troubled neighbouring country
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Afghanistan’s top envoy in China has urged Beijing to step up pressure on the Taliban as the resurgent group takes more Afghan cities, escalating fears of a civil war.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Javid Ahmad Qaem, Afghanistan’s ambassador to China, said there were two ways in which Beijing should put more pressure on the Taliban to stop the violence.
“One, to be very clear to them that the way they want to govern is not going to be accepted, and the way they have continued now on the ground is not going to be accepted,” Qaem said.
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“Second, there’s a lot of documentation that the Taliban gets a huge amount of support from Pakistan. China has a very good relationship with Pakistan. We believe China can use that leverage to convince Pakistan to see a peaceful Afghanistan and use the dividends of peace in Afghanistan. Those dividends could be useful for everyone in the region, including Pakistan.”
02:34
Taliban seizes Kunduz, 4 other provincial capitals as fighting escalates with Afghan forces
Taliban seizes Kunduz, 4 other provincial capitals as fighting escalates with Afghan forces
Qaem spoke as multilateral talks in Qatar on the conflicts in Afghanistan concluded on Thursday with a repeated message and no breakthrough. Attended by envoys from the United States, China, Pakistan and Russia, the talks brought calls for an accelerated peace process and an immediate halt to attacks on Afghan cities, and reaffirmation that countries would not recognise any government in Afghanistan “imposed through the use of military force”.
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