Amidst escalating tensions, China is mediating crucial talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan, aiming to resolve military conflict and address allegations of harbouring terrorist groups.
China has been making active mediation efforts to facilitate dialogue between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The process for talks is being implemented and advanced steadily," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing here.
The China-facilitated talks are the first major diplomatic engagement between the two neighbours since Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq in late February to target terrorist "hideouts" in Afghanistan.
For Pakistan, the talks were complicated by a report of UN experts saying that Islamabad's allegations of the presence of militants in Afghanistan lacked "credible evidence".
Last month, UN experts urged the two nations to commit to a permanent ceasefire, while adding that Pakistan had not published credible evidence that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacks within its territory were directed or controlled by the de facto Afghan authorities.
The report, released by the UN human rights office of the high commissioner, said that Pakistan's attack on Afghanistan violates the prohibition on the use of force under Article 2 of the United Nations Charter and customary international law.
The conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan intensified in recent months over Islamabad's allegations of Kabul harbouring TTP and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militant groups, which it said carry out recurring attacks including suicide bombings in Pakistan.
For its part, Pakistan questioned the position of UN human rights experts about the lack of "credible evidence" linking TTP attacks to Afghan soil, claiming that multiple UN and international reports has pointed it out, Pakistan's state-run APP news agency reported.
Afghanistan has consistently denied and asked Pakistan to take action, claiming that these groups are active in Pakistani provinces.
The current talks being held in Urumqi, provincial capital of China's Xinjiang, involve mid-level officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan.