China favours role in Afghan peace talks, appreciates Pakistan's efforts
BEIJING: A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Friday said that the country is in favour of playing a constructive role in Afghanistan's peace and reconciliation process, said a report on the government news service Xinhua.
The statements by spokesperson Hua Chunying come after recent terrorist attacks in Afghanistan which may put a damper on reconciliation efforts.
Hua said that China is consistent in its support for the "Afghan-led and Afghan-owned" reconciliation process, mentioning China's support for peace talks between the Afghan Taliban and Afghan government.
The spokesperson also noted Pakistan's significant role in the peace talks and said that China hopes that those involved in the talks continue to make efforts to ensure peace in Afghanistan.
Also read: Afghan team due in Pakistan to revive stalled Taliban peace talks
Pakistan last month hosted inaugural talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, who are fighting to re-establish hard-line Islamist rule more than 13 years after the US-led military intervention that toppled their regime.
Many in Afghanistan accuse Pakistan of being host to Taliban bases that are used to plan attacks such as the bombings over the weekend. Pakistan, which faces its own Taliban insurgency, denies that it has actively allowed its territory to be used in this way.
“Our priority of course is reconciliation,” Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz had said.
Three attacks last week shocked Kabul in their scope and brutality. A truck bomb exploded early Friday morning, flattening a city block and killing 15 people and wounding 240 as they slept, authorities said.
Hours later, a suicide bomber killed at least 20 cadets outside a police academy, while another 10 people died in an attack on a military camp used by US Army Special Forces. On Monday, an attack near Kabul's airport killed five people.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.
Meanwhile, fighting in Baghlan between Afghan forces and the Taliban has killed two police officers, said Jaweed Basharat, the provincial police spokesman. He said the fighting in the Dahana-I-Ghori district began on Tuesday.
The Taliban, who regularly exaggerate their claims, issued a statement, claiming a much higher police casualties figure.