‘Father of the Taliban’ calls on China to aid Afghan peace talks
Maulana Samiul Haq says China would be welcomed as an arbitrator in negotiations and shouldn’t ‘leave matters of such a great importance solely to the US’
A Pakistani Islamic cleric who taught the Taliban’s leaders has called on China to play a larger role in negotiations to end the 17-year Afghan conflict.
Beijing’s stake in regional peace was larger than America’s, Maulana Samiul Haq, the “Father of the Taliban”, said in an interview at his seminary near the northwestern city of Peshawar.
The 82-year-old Haq, who is believed to be in close contact with the Afghan Taliban and schooled its present chief, Haibatullah Akhundzada, said China would be welcomed as an arbitrator in negotiations and should not “leave matters of such a great importance solely to the US”.
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China has long been concerned about Afghanistan’s instability spilling across its border. The East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a separatist militant group formed by members of China’s Muslim Uygur community, has in the past operated in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Now Beijing is allegedly cracking down on ethnic Uygurs in its vast Xinjiang province that borders both nations.