The constantly changing conditions in Afghanistan have been keeping global politics on its foot for the past couple of years. Ever since Taliban peace talks have started, Afghanistan and the Taliban is under the spotlight. After the start of the Afghanistan peace process and now that Taliban peace talks seem to have paved the way in the peace-building process of the region, countries are devising their post-US withdrawal from Afghanistan. This leaves a huge opportunity for China to step its foot in Afghanistan. Not only China and Afghanistan will gain benefit from this peace and development deal but it will prove to be highly beneficial for Pakistan, India, and other neighboring countries.
Taliban Visit to China
After years of war on terror, major global powers decided to proceed with the Afghanistan peace process and sat at the negotiation table with all stakeholders. This will be a significant step to decide the future of regional and global security. Following this, China is ready to legitimize the Afghan Taliban and therefore took a step to negotiate with the Taliban to discuss their future engagements. For this purpose, nine Taliban official representatives visited China to meet Foreign Minister, Wang Yi. The meeting proved to be beneficial for the peace process and involvement of China in the development projects in Afghanistan.
China’s treatment of Afghanistan in the past and policy of respecting territorial integrity has been a defining course in setting up this meeting. Suhail Shaheen – Taliban Spokesperson in an interview with TRT World has made it clear that the Afghan Taliban want to keep the peace agreement and are looking forward to friendly relationships with other countries, Muslim and neighboring countries in specific.
He further added that If the US abide by their commitment and withdraws all troops from Afghanistan by September 11, as per the agreement signed in Afghanistan peace process, the Afghan Taliban see this as an opportunity to reconstruct and develop the country. This indicates the friendly relationship between Afghanistan and China in order will be beneficial for both countries.
Afghanistan Peace Process is a Defining Factor for China and Afghanistan’s Progress
The resurgence of the Afghan Taliban in Afghanistan has raised concerns in geo global politics. Countries are concerned about their national security, including China. China’s billion-dollar project, Belt and Road Initiative, is at the stake of regional security. Therefore, China wants to seize this opportunity to recognize Afghanistan’s role in the development of the region and make a peace treaty with the Afghan Taliban.
Taliban visit to China has resulted in a discussion of some important points were providing security to China’s project and engineer is one of them. In return, China is supposed to initiate development projects in Afghanistan. China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was in danger because of constant disruption from foreign threats. This developing friendly relationship between China and the Afghan Taliban will provide relief to China from foreign attacks on their engineers and project sites.
As a result of Afghanistan peace process, Wakhan Corridor’s construction that connects Afghanistan to China will prove to be vital for Afghanistan’s trade and development. It will open trade routes for China through Afghanistan to Gulf countries. Consequently, it will improve Afghanistan’s economic conditions.
Pakistan’s Role in Developing China – Taliban Nexus
Pakistan has been a keen member of the Afghanistan peace process and wants peace in the region. After experiencing its fair share of damage in the War on Terror, Pakistan no longer wants any danger in the country. The only way to ensure peace in Pakistan is to facilitate peace in the region by connecting the Afghan Taliban with other countries for peace deals.
Moreover, CPEC, a project sponsored by China in Pakistan, is one of the biggest development projects in the country. Any harm to the project can damage the progress of Pakistan and its friendly relationship with China. Therefore, it is in the interest of Pakistan to facilitate Afghanistan peace process and China – Taliban relationship. Recent frequent visits of Shah Mehmood Qureshi, foreign minister of Pakistan have made progressions on the CPEC project and threats surrounding it.
China and Pakistan are the countries that will face a direct hit in case of worsening security conditions in Afghanistan. To avoid bad conditions in the future, China and Pakistan want to win the trust of the Afghan Taliban through sincere negotiations and deals. On the other hand, the Afghan Taliban do not want a foreign interruption in the country again, so it is in their benefit to commit to their end of the deals.
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India Reaction to China – Taliban Peace Deal
The current Afghan government is highly influenced by foreign entities including the US and India. Both countries need a puppet to fulfill their agendas. India, as always, is under the impression of indirectly damaging Pakistan. For this reason, any peace deal with the Afghan Taliban is not in favor of India’s foreign policy for Pakistan. The developing China – Taliban nexus has proven to be worrisome for India. The growing influence of the Afghan Taliban in Afghanistan is not in favor of India and the Afghan government.
On the other hand, the Taliban have mentioned that they will not discriminate among any foreign troops in the country and therefore, the US and other countries should abide by their part of the deal and withdraw troops by September 11 to avoid consequences. They have been clear in their message but will the US withdraw its troop completely from Afghanistan or will Afghanistan again become a proxy theatre?
If India submits to the ongoing peace talks in the region, it could prove beneficial for India just like the whole region.
Conclusion
In conclusion, years of war on terror has everyone has seen that fights and wars have never proven to be good for the countries and region itself. In the end, the Afghanistan peace process was the only solution left to actually ensure peace in the region. China’s step to involve the Afghan Taliban in the development projects is a good initiative for the region. If the negotiations continue without foreign invasion and everything goes well, this could only mean regional success including Pakistan and India. However, only the future will tell what course will the current regional politics take.
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