Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid on Monday said the Taliban’s desire to include Afghanistan in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor was a positive sign.
He was speaking at a press conference when a Pakistani journalist asked him to comment on Taliban Spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid's statement wherein he had expressed the desire to become part of the CPEC and extended all cooperation in this regard.
“The Taliban’s desire to become part of the CPEC project is a positive sign,” said the minister.
The federal minister reiterated that the Taliban leadership had assured that Afghan soil would not be used against Pakistan, maintaining that situation at the Torkham border is normal and the government had not established any refugee camp at Torkham border or any other part of the country.
Earlier, in a telephonic conversation with Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao, Taliban Deputy Directory of Political Office Abdul Salam Hanafi discussed the ongoing situation in Afghanistan and future relations between the two countries.
The Taliban Spokesperson for international media tweeted that China would “maintain its embassy in Kabul.”
Talking about recent terrorist attacks, Rashid said the government had achieved a major success in tracing the origin of attackers behind Gwadar and Quetta incidents.
“The suicide bombers in Gwadar blast, took place on August 20 and another explosion targeting FC convoy on Mastung Road in Quetta, had been identified,” he said, adding they had come from Afghanistan.
Two boys lost their lives, while four others, including a Chinese national were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up targeting a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals in Gwadar.
Meanwhile, four people died and 20 injured on Sunday in a suicide attack near a check post on Mastung Road in Quetta.
The minister said India invested billions of dollars in establishing Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) and making 60 training camps in the country during last 40 years.
“The Indian intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), and the NDS are also in a state of stress after facing defeat in fulfillment of their nefarious designs,”he said, claiming that Afghanistan was going to be the central point of world politics in the days to come.
