Ariana: China’s trade with Afghanistan has been growing fast and it may become the second-largest trading nation with Afghanistan in 2023 after Pakistan, a situation that bodes well for the continuation of the CPEC part of the Belt & Road Initiative into Afghanistan, as per Silk Road Briefing (SRB). In December 2022 the top exports
Lawfare: Despite the CCP’s concerted efforts to approach its relationship with the Taliban pragmatically, with economic incentives and a concrete security agenda, the reality of the current situation in Afghanistan is highly volatile. While blaming the U.S. and Western countries for the ongoing financial and humanitarian disaster in the country, the Taliban appear more focused
Khaama: China and Iran have called on Afghanistan, a neighbouring country, to lift its women’s employment and education restrictions. The request was made in a joint statement released on Thursday at the close of the visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Beijing. In the report, the two sides reaffirmed their close political and economic
Bloomberg: The local affiliate of the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq, is attempting to “undermine the relationship between the Taliban and member states in the region,” according to United Nations report on the group’s activities. The report is expected to be discussed later Thursday at United Nations Security Council in New York. Click here
Khaama: United States Former President Donald Trump criticized American forces’ hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan and said ‘Bagram Airfield’ has a strategic location to monitor China from a closer range. Bagram Airbase is located some 11 kilometers in southwest of Charikar, the provincial capital of Parwan province, which accommodated American forces until 2020. Click here to
Ayaz Gul VOA News January 25, 2023 ISLAMABAD — Russia and Pakistan emphasized in bilateral talks Wednesday the need for “practical engagement” with Afghanistan’s Taliban but ruled out formal recognition of the Islamist rulers until they address international concerns over women’s rights and inclusive governance. The Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, led his delegation
ANI: The move comes as unstable and volatile Afghanistan threatens Chinese interests and could be a hurdle to the success of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Moreover, Chinese sources have expressed concern that uncertainty and unrest could lead to Afghanistan becoming a hotbed for terrorists “targeting China’s Xinjiang and its interests overseas, such as
Ayaz Gul VOA News January 22, 2023 ISLAMABAD — Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have arrested five men, including two Chinese nationals, for allegedly trying to smuggle an estimated 1,000 metric tons of lithium-bearing rocks out of the country. The arrests and the seizure of the rocks were made in the eastern Afghan border city of Jalalabad.
8am: Speculations have mounted that China will seek dominance over Afghanistan’s mineral resources, particularly its lithium, gold and other rare-earth ore deposits, following the final US withdrawal from the country in August 2021. Local sources said on Thursday, January 12, that experts from two Chinese firms have visited Ghazni province for technical studies of lithium
WION: Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, while referring to Pakistani collusion in recent attacks against Chinese citizens in Afghanistan, reasoned that Islamabad does not want “anyone controlling Afghanistan except itself.” “Such attacks are one way to prevent direct Chinese-to-Afghan contact. It is a way of reducing the agency of the Afghan state. It is sending a warning sign