By RFE/RL’s Tajik Service October 27, 2021 DUSHANBE — Tajikistan has approved the construction of a Chinese military base near the Tajik-Afghan border, in the latest sign of Beijing’s expanding security footprint in the region. Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament on October 27 approved construction of the facility as part of an agreement between Tajikistan’s Interior
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 26, 2021 The leaders of Pakistan and China on October 26 launched a joint appeal to the international community calling for urgent humanitarian and economic aid to Afghanistan, where people are facing food and medicine shortages in the coming winter. A statement said Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chinese
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 25, 2021 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet with Taliban representatives during a visit to Qatar, in their latest high-level talks since the withdrawal of U.S.-led international forces in August. The visit to Doha, where the Taliban has its political office, is scheduled for October 25-26 to discuss “issues
Patsy Widakuswara VOA News October 16, 2021 WHITE HOUSE — U.S. officials and independent analysts reacted skeptically Friday to a Taliban claim that China is ready to invest billions of dollars in Afghanistan. White House press secretary Jen Psaki indicated the United States is more concerned with helping the Afghan people as the nation’s economy collapses
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News October 14, 2021 KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — China wants to invest billions of dollars in Afghanistan if the Taliban guarantee security for their workers and their assets. This, according to the Taliban’s acting Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Zabihullah Mujahid, who also said his government is ready to deliver. In a television
Roshan Noorzai VOA News October 4, 2021 WASHINGTON — The international community is renewing its focus on Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, believed to be worth more than $1 trillion, lying untapped within its often-hostile geography. This comes as the newly formed Taliban government faces a looming economic crisis in the country. The mineral deposits could potentially be
By RFE/RL’s Tajik Service October 4, 2021 KHATLON, Tajikistan — The Taliban has provided Tajik militants based along the border with Tajikistan with new military vehicles, weaponry, and other equipment over the past two weeks, security sources in Tajikistan and northeastern Afghanistan say, amid an ongoing military buildup on both sides of the frontier. The sources
By Reid Standish Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty September 27, 2021 China is calling for sanctions against Afghanistan to be lifted as part of a wider push by Beijing to gain international political support for the Taliban’s rule in the country. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged his counterparts during talks with G20 ministers on September 23
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty September 21, 2021 The acting head of Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government, Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund, has met in Kabul with representatives from Russia, China, and Pakistan, Taliban official Ahmadullah Muttaqi tweeted on September 21. Muttaqi also uploaded photos purportedly showing Russian envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov, Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq Khan,
By RFE/RL’s Tajik Service September 17, 2021 Leaders of the Russia- and China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have urged the world to unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets and boost assistance to the war-torn nation as it teeters on the brink of crisis following the Taliban’s return to power last month. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart,