KABUL: China has expressed its desire to take on a role as mediator between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s office said in statement, according to Tolo News.
“China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to visit Kabul soon where he will meet Afghan officials to discuss ways to improve Afghanistan-Pakistan relations,” the statement said.
It added that the Chinese foreign minister would work to discuss the possibility of setting up a meeting between the four members of the Quadrilateral Coordination Committee – Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China.
The four-nation group was formed in January 2016 for reconciliation in Afghanistan through the direct peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
“It is the first time that China wants to be a mediator in Afghanistan’s peace process and soon the Chinese Foreign Minister will visit Kabul. Peace with Pakistan was our demand and this must be solved between government and government,” Ghani said, according to the statement.
The development follows a spate of deadly attacks in the country. Two weeks ago, a suicide truck bomber detonated his explosives in the Kabul city, killing over 150 people wounding hundreds other.
No group, including the Taliban, claimed responsibly for the attack.
Pakistan had closed the Pak-Afghan border in mid-February this year, following a string of attacks that Islamabad blamed on militants hiding in Afghanistan.
