Beijing: China is ready to help Afghanistan realise peace and stability at an early date and is opposed to any “interference” in the country’s internal affairs, Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang has said amid reports of widespread rights abuse including the worsening rights of women and girls under the Taliban regime.
A Chinese readout of the meeting between Qin and his counterparts from Afghanistan and Pakistan in Islamabad said Beijing is willing to set an “example of cooperation with neighbours, focus on mini-multilateralism and resolve issues through bilateral and trilateral mechanisms”, with the two countries.
Qin met Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and acting foreign minister of the Afghan interim government Amir Khan Muttaqi over the weekend for the “China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue”.
Muttaqi who faces a travel ban and an asset freeze under UN Security Council sanctions travelled to Islamabad after being allowed to do so by the world body.
On terrorism, Qin was quoted as telling Muttaqi that Afghanistan should earnestly fulfil its commitment to fighting terrorism, “…resolutely crack down on terrorist forces, including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, and ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and institutions in Afghanistan”.
“They (the three ministers) made it clear to oppose interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, illegal unilateral sanctions against Afghanistan, and all acts that undermine regional peace and stability,” the statement said.
{{/usCountry}}“They (the three ministers) made it clear to oppose interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, illegal unilateral sanctions against Afghanistan, and all acts that undermine regional peace and stability,” the statement said.
{{/usCountry}}Qin’s visit to Islamabad for bilateral meetings with Pakistan’s top leadership as well as for the trilateral dialogue comes in the backdrop of China’s increasingly hectic engagement with countries in the region with a sharp focus on the resource-rich but isolated Taliban-led Afghanistan.
China and Afghanistan have been supporting, understanding and trusting each other, Qin said, noting that no matter how the international situation evolves, China will always stand firmly with the Afghan people and support Afghanistan in pursuing a development path that suits its national conditions.
Neither the Chinese statement on the trilateral dialogue nor the one on Qin-Muttaqi meeting mentioned the rights’ situation in Afghanistan.
A report released in March by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, Richard Bennett catalogued widespread abuses in Afghanistan.
The report, according to the rights body, Human Rights Watch pointed out “…serious abuses, noting that the Taliban authorities have “normalised” the systematic violation of the rights of women and girls”.
“The Special Rapporteur is deeply concerned that, increasingly, the Taliban is ruling Afghanistan through fear and repressive policies aimed at suppressing communities, and women in particular,” the UN report said.