Despite the active intervention of the CCP to uphold its “Belt and Road” investments and Xi Jinping’s personal intervention to mediate, tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to escalate this week.
According to a report by Nikkei Asia on Thursday (March 19), since Pakistan launched airstrikes on Afghanistan on February 26, Beijing has been actively mediating, but the conflict between the two countries continues to escalate.
The Taliban regime announced on March 17 that Pakistan’s airstrikes on Kabul on the 16th hit Omid Hospital, a 2000-bed drug rehabilitation center, causing the death of more than 400 people.
According to Agence France-Presse, the Non-Governmental Organization Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) confirmed the news after conducting an investigation at the incident site. Jacopo Caridi, the head of the organization in Afghanistan, described the scene as “horrific” and stated: “The facility, which originally accommodated about 2000 patients, has been severely damaged, with some areas completely destroyed. We saw many limbs scattered around, which was shocking. The explosive force was so great that some bodies were blown to pieces.”
Pakistan’s Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar, denied the claims, stating that Pakistan’s targets were only military and terrorist targets directly or indirectly involved in plotting or supporting terrorist attacks and not targeting civilians.
On March 8, Afghan forces sent makeshift drones to various locations in Pakistan, including Islamabad. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari immediately stated that the attacks crossed Pakistan’s “red line.”
On March 14, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations reported that Afghan-launched makeshift drones had injured at least 4 people, including 2 children.
Qatari Al Jazeera TV cited UN data reporting that from February 26 to March 5, about 115,000 people were forced to leave their homes due to the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
According to Reuters on March 12, three Pakistani government officials revealed that Chinese authorities have been attempting to mediate the conflict.
Pakistani officials stated that Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, brought a message from CCP leader Xi Jinping during a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the end of last month, demanding a halt to hostile actions.
In an email response to Reuters, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that China’s special envoy for Afghan affairs, Yue Xiaoyong, is shuttling between the two countries for mediation, and the embassies in both countries are maintaining close communication with all parties.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also spoke by telephone with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday (March 10) to discuss the conflict situation.
Additionally, according to a statement from the Afghan Foreign Ministry, Chinese Ambassador to Kabul Zhao Xing and special envoy Yue Xiaoyong also met with Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi this week.
Despite China’s active involvement, the effectiveness of its mediation has been questioned by the outside world. Imtiaz Gul, Executive Director of the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in Pakistan, told Nikkei Asia that Beijing tends to continue trade while pushing for dialogue. Pakistan has explicitly stated that if Afghanistan does not take verifiable action against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the border will not reopen.
Khuram Iqbal, Chairman of the Consortium for Asia Pacific and Eurasian Studies, also pointed out the differences in approach between China and Pakistan on this issue – Beijing leans towards diplomatic avenues, while Islamabad believes diplomatic means have been exhausted.
It is worth noting that Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, which had previously assisted in hosting talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan, are currently deeply involved in conflicts in the Middle East, leaving them with little capacity to focus elsewhere. This makes Beijing the most likely mediator.
Iqbal stated that considering Beijing’s investments of over $65 billion in infrastructure projects in Pakistan through the Belt and Road initiative, and significant mineral investments in both countries, Beijing is unlikely to easily abandon its mediation efforts.