Taliban seeks support of China for expanding footprint in Afghanistan

Kabul: China told a visiting Taliban delegation on Wednesday it expected the insurgent group to play an important role in ending Afghanistan's war and rebuilding the country, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

Nine Taliban representatives met Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin on a two-day visit during which the peace process and security issues were discussed, a Taliban spokesperson said.

Wang said the Taliban is expected to "play an important role in the process of peaceful reconciliation and reconstruction in Afghanistan", according to a readout of the meeting from the foreign ministry.

He also said that he hoped the Taliban would crack down on the East Turkestan Islamic Movement as it was a "direct threat to China's national security," according to the readout, referring to a group China says is active in the Xinjiang region in China's far west.

The visit was likely to further cement the insurgent group's recognition on the international stage at a sensitive time even as violence increases in Afghanistan. The militants have a political office in Qatar where peace talks are taking place and this month sent representatives to Iran where they had meetings with an Afghan government delegation.

"Politics, economy and issues related to the security of both countries and the current situation of Afghanistan and the peace process were discussed in the meetings," Taliban spokesperson Mohammed Naeem tweeted about the China visit.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the US "really messed it up" in Afghanistan as he questioned the American motive for the 2001 invasion of the country in the first place and then their subsequent attempts of seeking a political solution with the Taliban from a position of weakness.

Khan also said that the only good solution to Afghanistan's situation is through a political settlement that is "inclusive an" involves all factions, including the Taliban.

"I think the US has really messed it up in Afghanistan," Khan said during an interview with Judy Woodruff on PBS NewsHour, an American news programme, aired on Tuesday night, Dawn newspaper reported.