There is trouble brewing in Afghanistan between the Haqqani Network and China, as the latter has demanded that the Taliban break relations with The Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and fulfill the promise it had made.
The Chinese spy chief asked Sirajuddin Haqqani for the extradition of prominent members of Islamic militant outfit ETIM. Also, demanding their handover was the Chinese Ambassador in Afghanistan who said, “Where have the members of the ETIM gone after leaving Afghanistan? How many of them are staying in the country? “.
However, the Taliban has maintained that they have asked the ETIM fighters to leave Afghanistan but this has not been verified by the various intelligence reports that suggest otherwise as these small number of hardcore Islamists pose a threat to China’s security in the restive Xinjiang province.
According to Chinese state media, the Global Times, “Approximately 500 fighters of the group operate in the north and north-east of Afghanistan, primarily in Raghistan and Warduj districts, Badakhshan, with financing based in Raghistan.
China is however apprehensive because it knows that the Taliban will most likely not hand over the ETIM members as they would face certain death. Also, it should be noted that the Taliban did not hand over al-Qaeda leader and 9/11 terror mastermind Osama Bin Laden to the Americans
Meanwhile, at the United Nations, China raised the issue of ETIM and said that the United States decision to remove the ETIM from its Terrorist Exclusion List in October last year was tantamount to shielding the group which the UN had designated as a terror organisation.
“We call for the unity and collaboration of the international community to prevent the ETIM and other terrorist forces from festering in Afghanistan and to prevent the country from again becoming a haven and a fountainhead of terrorist activities,” the state-affiliated media China Daily quoted Geng as saying.
China along with Pakistan was among the few countries which kept its embassy open during the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan as there is already discussion underway for the extension of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) within Afghanistan as the project is now under constant attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an ally of the Taliban.
It is ironic that China is asking the Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who himself is a designated international terrorist with a bounty of $10 million to extradite ETIM members to Beijing. “It’s hard to see a wanted man turning over someone who is wanted for similar reasons, “says an Afghan journalist.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.