China doesn’t hold sway over Afghan Taliban, says Chinese ambassador

ISLAMABAD: Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing says his country desires good ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan, adding that it is also striving for the peace process in the war-torn country.

In an interview with BBC Urdu, the ambassador said that security situation in Pakistan has got better.

He said Gwadar port was going to become an international hub of business activities. Around 10, 000 Chinese nationals and 60,000 Pakistanis are working on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, he added.

Jing said the CPEC project was in its first phase, wherein work on 21 project was ongoing, whereas 20 more projects were in the pipeline.

He said law and order situation in Pakistan had got better and that he was satisfied with the security being provided to Chinese nationals working in Pakistan.

The ambassador said the CPEC would also be expanded to other regional countries, including the war-torn, Afghanistan.

He said China held no sway over the Afghan Taliban, but was in touch with the Taliban’s Qatar office.