Beijing: China has apparently put a pause on investments or assistance in Afghanistan as the country is unhappy with the Afghan Taliban due to its non-fulfilment of commitment to safeguarding Beijing’s security interests.
The communist nation has started treating Afghanistan with the utmost caution, making no big investments as the country’s interim government failed to safeguard China’s security interests. China merely provided US$ 31 million worth of aid last year, which included food supplies and coronavirus vaccines and this year in June US$ 7.5 million worth of humanitarian aid after an earthquake of 6.1 magnitudes struck the Afghan land, reported the Afghan Diaspora.
Highlighting the ongoing situation in Afghanistan and the country’s ties with China, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said during a recent press briefing that “Beijing is unhappy with the Afghan Taliban as the latter has not stamped out the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) from Afghanistan.”
He further said, “Judging from China’s communication with the Afghan Taliban, the Afghan Taliban has said repeatedly that it will not allow Afghanistan’s territory to be used by any terrorist organisations to attack China or any other country. We hope the Afghan side can earnestly fulfil this commitment,” during the briefing.
Earlier in July, a UN report threw light on the situation and stated the ETIM has rebuilt several strongholds in Badakhshan in northeast Afghanistan and expanded its area of operations, according to Afghan Diaspora.
As per the UK’s Islamic Theology of Counter Terrorism, “The Taliban made no effort to expel the ETIM militants from Afghanistan despite China’s pressure.” Moreover, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been repeatedly targeted by Baloch separatists as well as terrorists belonging to the TTP as they consider it an exploitative project, casting a doubt on its successful completion in Pakistan, adding to the worries of China.
In another incident, nine Chinese workers were killed in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when the bus they were travelling in suffered a blast. The deceased was working for the Dasu hydropower project which was a part of the CPEC project in the Upper Kohistan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa- a stronghold of the TTP, the Afghan Diaspora reported.
In terms of the Belt and Road initiative, the growth in direct trade has been limited so far. The complete lack of infrastructure or managerial capability on the Afghan side limits their ambition, alongside concerns about what they might be getting themselves into. Even after almost a decade after Beijing initiated the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the implementation of several of its important projects in Pakistan failed to generate any investments for the country which is headed into an economic crisis.
Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan has been witnessing a spurt in local protests against the Pakistan Army over land issues. The local people are angry at the “land grabbing” spree of the army, all in the name of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
