Pakistan has confirmed it sent a delegation to China to hold talks with the Afghan government, following weeks of border clashes between the two neighbours.
Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Thursday that Islamabad has sent a delegation to Urumqi in northwestern China for talks with the Afghan side, according to local broadcaster Geo News.
Senior government officials are representing the Pakistani side, Andrbai told reporters in Islamabad.
The broadcaster reported that the two sides "launched junior-level diplomatic talks in Urumqi."
Afghanistan also confirmed the talks.
"At the initiative of the People's Republic of China, a mid-level delegation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has arrived in the People's Republic of China to hold formal talks with the Pakistani side," foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said on X
The meeting comes after Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar Tuesday met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.
China on Thursday said it will “continue to play a constructive role in de-escalating the situation, and improving relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
The two countries are China's neighbours, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing, adding that China supported the two countries in resolving differences and disputes through dialogue.
The latest round of border clashes began late February, when Islamabad launched air strikes inside Afghanistan, following a series of deadly attacks across Pakistan by terrorists loyal to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), for which Islamabad accused Kabul of sheltering them and failing to take action against them.
Kabul denies the accusations that the TTP terrorists use Afghan soil against Pakistan.
According to officials from the two countries, dozens of civilians, soldiers, and militants have been killed on both sides of the border.
The two sides had agreed to a week-long ceasefire on the eve of Eid al-Fitr, one of the main Muslim festivals, on March 18, following requests from Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
