SHAFAQNA PAKISTAN (Shia News Agency)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s offer of mediation of the Afghan Taliban dialogue could augur well for regional peace. China intends to play a constructive role to engage the Taliban in peace negotiations. The nature of facilitation is still obscure, yet it is good that Chinese intent is being aired to help the talks. The west and the present Afghan leadership too are looking to bring peace to Afghanistan through a negotiated solution to the conflict. President Ashraf Ghani is working on positive lines to save the country from further turmoil. In October last, he visited Beijing to seek the support of the Chinese government for the revival of peace talks in Afghanistan. The situation is taking the kind of shape that has compelled China to no longer keep itself away from the ground realities in the neigbouring country. The main concern of China is increasing Islamist militancy in Xinjiang, which has grown in recent years courtesy the presence of hardline militants in FATA in Pakistan, from where they have been trickling into China. Beijing has time and again quietly pressured Pakistan to crack down on insurgent training camps in its restive tribal areas. The exigency of China’s involvement in restoring peace in Afghanistan has become vital due to the withdrawal of US-led NATO forces, which will create a vacuum that requires to be filled on an urgent basis. The latest offer to Islamabad has been made because China knows the importance of Pakistan’s military and civil leadership, which can be helpful in striking a peace deal due to their past ties with the Taliban. The ambitious plans of China to capture new trade and investment opportunities in Asia and unearth a mineral treasure trove of lithium in Afghanistan (believed to be of a total value of some $ three trillion) are additional factors in its interest in this war-torn country. According to a US geological survey, there are huge deposits of minerals in Afghanistan but due to lack of wherewithal in a country facing war for the last four decades, it has become very difficult to develop them. Moreover, the present leadership in Beijing has great interest in opening an economic corridor in the region for expanding its economic and trade horizons. Since taking office in 2013, Chinese President Xi has pushed the idea of a Silk Road Economic Belt that would connect China to South Asia and Central Asia with roads, railways, ports and airports. Amid a changing global scenario, a world power like China is conscious about the rising insurgency of Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) that is posing greater dangers to the stability of the Middle East and Asia. China has sensed the underlying threat of this extremist group, which can also pose problems for China in the long run. So China’s intervention in the region is in its own interest. Beijing feels if it does not deter militancy in South Asia and the Middle East, it will eventually endanger peace in the whole world.
China’s mediation offer is a good gesture and Pakistan should grab this opportunity with a positive response. At the same time, the government should get rid of Pakistan’s past dual policy when it comes to dealing with militants, which caused China’s silent indignation towards Islamabad. The restoration of peace in Afghanistan is in the interests of all stakeholder countries, including China, India, Pakistan and even Russia, the last named country also taking interest in the stability of Afghanistan through better ties with Pakistan. This Moscow policy is to ensure the Chechen insurgency remains under control. The US has spent almost 13 years in fighting the Taliban insurgency but failed to wipe it out. There are some faint indications that the Taliban also want to give peace a chance. The sending of a delegation by the militants to China indicates the possibility that the Taliban also want some kind of peace deal. Pakistan should take the benefit of this Chinese offer and reach out to those Taliban who are ready to hold a meaningful dialogue. *
Courtesy Dawn.com
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