Citing “timing reasons” for holding a security dialogue organized by India on the situation in the war-torn country, China on Wednesday said it will participate in a meeting on Afghanistan convened by Pakistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan (left) with Chinese President Xi Jinping. (AFP file photo)
China on Wednesday said it would participate in a meeting on Afghanistan convened by its all-weather ally Pakistan, after skipping a security dialogue organized by India on the situation in the war-torn country, citing “time-bound reasons”.
Pakistan will host senior diplomats from the US, China and Russia in Islamabad on Thursday to discuss the situation in neighboring Afghanistan. Dawn newspaper reported that the Troika Plus meeting will be attended by special representatives of the four countries.
Asked whether China would attend the meeting in Islamabad, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here that “China supports Pakistan in hosting the expanded Troika meeting”.
“We support all efforts conducive to stability in Afghanistan to build world consensus,” he said, adding that China’s special envoy to Afghanistan Yu Xiao Yong would attend the meeting organized by Pakistan.
On Tuesday, Wang said China would not attend the security talks on Afghanistan convened by India due to “time bound reasons”. He said that China has informed the Indian side in response.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday chaired an eight-nation dialogue in New Delhi, which was attended by officials from Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
All-weather allies China and Pakistan followed a coordinated policy after the Taliban supported the Afghan terrorist group and gained international recognition for their interim government.
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