A Wake-up Call

Chinese officials are in successful talks with the Taliban government in Afghanistan to establish their hold in the region, in which Pakistan is playing the role of a bridge. China wants to expand its development network in Afghanistan, but without Pakistan it will not achieve this target. Projects in the areas of infrastructure development, health, capacity building and science and technology are under consideration. There is news circulating that the new Afghan Taliban police force will be trained at training colleges of Pakistan Police, but Hangu and RTW Kohat facilities could not be viable due to the language barrier. Taliban sources say they intend to grant visa-free entry to Pakistani citizens to the citizens of and friendly countries like China, Qatar, Turkey, Iran and Russia. This will enhance regional cooperation and will lead to rapid development in Afghanistan with the help of these countries. Taliban are also considering to abolish nationalities of Afghans seeking political asylum in the United States, Canada, U.K. and the rest of the Western countries. Their stance is that if a person cannot be patriotic with his homeland, he has no right to enter the Afghan land even if they do not work against Afghanistan after receiving training from foreign countries. Consultations in this connection are taking place, as per the Taliban. The Taliban want to make progress in Afghanistan through their Chinese friends and have ignored the Indians. It is also learned that educated people or those with basic engineering skills will be trained to fly by a friendly neighbouring country, however private flying clubs will be engaged in this activity. Retired PAF employees have been offered jobs in Afghanistan and Pakistan is ready to facilitate for technology transfer. Now it is envisioned that if the Taliban pursue policies like Malaysia, Dubai, Qatar or Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan will move on the path of development and will be part of China’s BRI project. Having said that we must consider that after the collapse of the Afghan security forces the regional actors will engage the Taliban, shifting from proxy support to open political relations with the group is in the offing. These interactions will be transactional exchanges, as states like Iran and Pakistan will secure their borders and security interests. Countries such as Russia, China, and Afghanistan’s Central Asian neighbours will advance their economic interests and try to limit refugee flow. Taliban policies have undergone a strategic shift from fighting to development side but the world must consider the upcoming humanitarian crisis. Chinese officials mostly use Xinjiang Muslims to negotiate with the Taliban, who deal with the Taliban in Islamic ways because China knows that the Afghan Taliban are annoyed with China over the way the deal with the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. Chinese are trying to convince the Taliban that all reports of persecution of Uyghur Muslims are false and that they promote these Muslims everywhere. If China and Russia continue to cooperate with the Afghan Taliban, they will be able to establish their footprint in Afghanistan rather in the region. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid recently told an Italian newspaper that the group will rely primarily on financing from China following its takeover of the country amid fears of an economic collapse and widespread hunger. Following the chaotic departure of foreign troops from Kabul Airport in recent weeks, Western states have severely restricted their aid payments to Afghanistan, thus providing an excellent opportunity to China to make inroads in Afghanistan.

“China is our most important partner and represents a fundamental and extraordinary opportunity for us, because it is ready to invest and rebuild our country,” the Taliban spokesperson was quoted as saying in the interview. He said the New Silk Road – an infrastructure initiative with which China wants to increase its global influence by opening up trade routes – was held in high regard by the Taliban. There are “rich copper mines in the country which can be put back into operation and modernized. In present scenario, Afghanistan desperately needs money, and the Taliban is unlikely to get swift access to the roughly $10bn in assets here mostly held abroad by the Afghan Central Bank. Blocking funds in foreign banks can aggravate a looming “humanitarian catastrophe” in Afghanistan, which is indeed a wake-up call for the United States and other Western countries.