Beijing: The Taliban has assured China that it will not let the militants of East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which is struggling to separate East Turkmenistan from China, use the land of Afghanistan. However, Javid Ahmad Qaem, the Afghan envoy to China, has suggested that China must not trust the Taliban, which has the same mindset as the ETIM; China should beware of the Taliban. Moreover, the envoy has warned that China must make a choice between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
Last week, China conducted a special meeting with senior commanders of the Taliban. Taliban leader Mullah Baradar had participated in this meeting held in Tianjin city. During the conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, ‘The Taliban is an important military and political force in Afghanistan and expected to play an important role in peace, reconciliation and reconstruction process in the country.’ Wang Yi also presented the issue of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which wants to break the Chinese Xinjiang province and fight for an independent East Turkestan. Wang also demanded the Taliban refuse shelter to the ETIM militant outfit in Afghanistan.
At the time, Mullah Baradar also declared that the Taliban would not interfere in the atrocities committed against the Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province. Moreover, Baradar assured that the Afghan territory would not be used for anti-China actions. Nevertheless, the Taliban has given the assurance as it expects China’s support for its tyrant regime in Afghanistan. Hence, China should beware of this militant outfit, warned Afghan envoy to China Javid Ahmad Qaem.
‘Taliban, ETIM and other militant outfits have the same ideology. How could you expect somebody with the same thinking to fight other people who are with the same thinking?’ Afghan envoy Qaem raised this question while speaking to an international news agency. The Afghan envoy reminded the agency of the UN report, which was published last month, to make his point.
As per the Doha agreement, the Taliban had agreed not to cooperate with Al Qaeda or any other terrorist outfit. However, according to the United Nations report, the Taliban continues to collaborate with Al Qaeda, ETIM, and other Pak terror outfits even today. Besides, the ETIM is an outfit associated with Al Qaeda. So, the Taliban appears unlikely to break ties with Al Qaeda, claimed Qaem.
China had informed the Afghan government about holding talks with the Taliban ahead of it. Although the Afghan envoy warned that China, which is holding talks simultaneously with both, the Afghan government and the Taliban, should trust only one of them. Also, if peace must prevail in Afghanistan, China should stop Pakistan, which assists the Taliban, and encourage it to build trust with the Afghan government, Qaem advised.
Meanwhile, the ETIM is claimed to have a base at Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan near the Chinese border. A video of the ETIM militants training at the base had surfaced recently.
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