China holds ‘detailed discussion’ on the release of Taliban prisoners with Afghanistan

Beijing sees its role in Afghanistan beyond the peace deal as cautious and flexible. Thus, to weaponize the Taliban in order to secure its economic and strategic interests in Afghanistan, China attempts to catalyze the political impasse in Kabul with diplomatic talks cloaked under COVID-19 assistance

New Delhi: With an intent to catalyze the political impasse in Afghanistan, China – the ‘special faciliatory’ advocate of the Taliban is reportedly using the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation to its advantage.

While extending shipments of medical supplies and essential products for COVID-19, Beijing on the sidelines is also staging strategic talks with Kabul; pressing the Afghan government to not only expedite the release of the Taliban prisoners but also provide an active political position to the radical outfit in the ministry.

According to reports, on 25 April, Chinese Ambassador in Kabul Wang Yu met Afghanistan’s newly appointed acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed Atmar. Amid discussions on expansion and strengthening of bilateral ties between Kabul and Beijing, the two leaders also held talks at length on the release of the Taliban prisoners.

“The Chinese Ambassador had requested a meeting to personally congratulate Minister Atmar on his appointment. They had spoken with each other on phone on 8 April. The meeting went very well, with the Chinese diplomats assuring additional support of essential supplies, test kits, and medicines for the pandemic, amid other topics of discussion,” an Afghan government officer with MoFA said.

A statement released by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) read, ‘the meeting ended with the two parties having a detailed discussion on the release of Taliban prisoners, the beginning of peace talks as well as securing humanitarian ceasefire.’

Sources in the MoFA claimed that the meeting, which lasted for more than 90-minutes, also witnessed talks on providing the Taliban representatives an active role to form an inclusive Afghan government.

“They (Chinese) support the Taliban’s political ideology to bring stability and peace in the region. In order to strengthen the Taliban’s legitimacy, role, and influence in Afghanistan’s politics, China advocates its active inclusiveness in Afghan politics. However, our minister (Atmar) has respectfully told them that peace in the country can be achieved and sustained within the framework of the Islamic Republic,” a senior Afghan diplomat told The News21.

He added that recognizing Minister Atmar’s extensive understanding of internal security issues, during his strides as the former National Security Advisor of Afghanistan, the Chinese diplomats also discussed the situation with the release of the Taliban prisoners.

As per the Afghan National Security Council (ANSC), till date Kabul has released 487 Taliban prisoners, including the 55 inmates released in the fifth-round last week.

Spokesperson for the ANSC, Javid Faisal in a tweet said that, ‘as part of efforts to advance peace and control of the pandemic, the detainees were released on 22 April at the decree of President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani from Paktia, Logar, Badakhshan, Jawzjan, Ghazni, Baghlan, Khost, Paktika, and Maidan Wardak Provinces.’

However, the Taliban have denied the knowledge on most of the prisoners released by the Afghan Government.

Securing Strategic-Economic Motives

China, under President Xi Jinping’s leadership, has consolidated its position as a ‘special facilitator’ – claiming to negotiate talks between Kabul and the Taliban – in the international community. While the leadership of Beijing take pride in maintaining relative neutrality in the standoff, Chinese Embassies in Afghanistan and Pakistan have been religiously issuing visas to the Taliban operatives to visit China.

In October 2019, China gave away over two dozen visas to the Taliban representatives to participate in a two-day intra-Afghan conference in Beijing.

The Taliban agreed to openly surface in such large numbers outside Afghan lands, only after Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s co-founder, was assured of all measures by Chinese diplomats in Doha, where the radical outfit has a political office.

China has a transactional relationship with the Taliban. In return for China’s advocacy, funding and strategic assistance, the Taliban denied Uyghur militants a safe haven and additional manpower. Thus, since 2014 Taliban delegations started to openly and consistently visit and attend high-political discussions in Beijing.

Since 2000, economic and political analysts in Beijing have underlined the failure of the Chinese diplomatic mission in Afghanistan to secure the two mega-infrastructure projects — the Anyak copper mine and the Amu Darya oil project.

High-threat security issues from militant groups to political opposition from local bodies – these two projects have faced the brunt. Thus, in order to seize the opportunity to play a bigger economic role in Afghan lands, China is weaponizing the Taliban to secure local reassurances, support and security.

Apart from these two projects, the Taliban have also agreed to secure the extension of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor via a railway to Kandahar.