Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has welcomed the Taliban’s desire to become part of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, reported Radio Pakistan.
Talking to the media persons in Islamabad on Monday, he said the CPEC is the jugular vein of Pakistan, and the friendship between Pakistan and China is higher than in the Himalayas.
“Pakistan is proud of its friendship with China and if the Taliban hold similar views, then it is really good,” he said, terming the Taliban’s desire to become part of the project as “encouraging”, saying “it is good” if the Taliban’s views about China were similar to that of Pakistan.
It bears mentioning that the Taliban had on Saturday also described China as its “most important partner”, saying Afghanistan looks to Beijing to rebuild the country and exploit its rich copper deposits as the war-ravaged country faces widespread hunger and fears of an economic collapse.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had said the group supports China’s One Belt, One Road initiative that seeks to link China with Africa, Asia and Europe through an enormous network of ports, railways, roads and industrial parks.
The interior minister said that those who perpetrated recent suicide attacks in Gwadar and Mastung had come from Afghanistan. He said the Afghans have assured that they will not allow their land to be used against Pakistan.
He said Pakistan desires peace and stability in Afghanistan. He said the progress of Pakistan and Afghanistan is interlinked.
Two boys were killed and four others, including a Chinese national, injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up targeting a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals in Gwadar on Aug 20, while four people had lost their lives and 20 were injured on Sunday in a suicide attack near a checkpost on Mastung Road in Quetta.
Rasheed also said that India had 68 training camps in Afghanistan, which are now dysfunctional.
The minister reiterated that Pakistan supported peace, development and prosperity in Afghanistan, saying “the peace in the two countries is interlinked.”
Responding to another question, Rasheed said Pakistan would take decisions about its side of Torkham, Chaman, while the Taliban had the authority to make decisions on their side. He, however, added that the [Pakistan] government would decide about those who were coming into the country without documents.
He said Afghans had assured their territory would not be used against Pakistan, while the latter also made the same assurance to its neighbours.
“However, in this country, there is BLA, Daesh and other terrorist organisations, but our Army has the capacity to deal with them effectively,” the minister added.
When asked about the visit of ISI DG to Kabul, Rasheed responded that Gen Faiz dominated Indian media for two days. “It seemed as if he visited Delhi instead of Kabul,” he said.
He insisted that Afghanistan was going to be the cynosure of world politics in days to come.
