KABUL - In fresh development, a two-member delegation of Afghan Taliban visited China where they held extensive negotiations with Chinese officials, sources said.

A leading Pakistani The News newspaper while quoting diplomatic sources said that Qari Din Muhammad, Afghan Taliban member in Doha, Qatar, visited China last November. The delegation, the paper said had discussed issues pertaining to Afghanistan and the latest political situation in the region. It also quoted the AIP or Afghan Islamic Press.

However, no specific details are available into the negotiations but the Taliban may have started thinking about China’s role to ensure peace in the war-torn country and kick-start the stalled reconciliation process.

Quoting an unnamed Taliban official, the paper said that he confirmed the visit of the Taliban officials to China and said: “The purpose of the trip was to share the Islamic Emirate’s stance with China.”

Earlier, the Taliban delegations from its Qatar office also visited Japan, France and Iran in the past. Besides attending different meetings and conferences, they also held talks with officials of these countries.

The visit of the Taliban delegation to China came shortly after the newly-elected Afghan President Ashraf Ghani paid a four-day official trip to China. The Afghan president, while addressing the ‘Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference’ in Beijing, termed China as the key country which can help restore peace in Afghanistan and urged the Taliban to take part in the intra-Afghan dialogues.

Similarly, the Chinese ambassador to Kabul, during a meeting with Dr Abdullah Abdullah, also hinted at using its influence on Pakistan in the Afghan peace process. (Pajhwok)