Taliban expresses interest in joining China & Pakistan's $60 billion CPEC project

The Taliban has expressed its desire to join the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid on Monday expressed the terror group's interest in the strategic project, ANI quoted a report by Samaa News. The group has reportedly said that it will address Islamabad's concerns about Pakistan based terror group 'Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan' (TTP). 

Taliban's interest in joining hands with China and Pakistan does not come as a major surprise. Several reports of the group's collusion with Pakistan have emerged since its takeover of Afghanistan. Most recently, the visit of Pakistan's ISI chief Faiz Hameed to Kabul drew ire especially since it was followed by a massive military offensive in Panjshir Valley, reportedly aided by the Pakistan Air Force. 

While several Pakistani officials have met the Taliban, on Monday, China also became one of the first countries to interact with a Taliban delegation. Abdul Salam Hanafi, the deputy head of the Taliban political office in Qatar, met Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu and discussed 'bilateral relations' in Kabul. 

However, the Communist country has on previous occasions, expressed concerns over whether the instability in Taliban-run Afghanistan could potentially impact its CPEC project. According to Global Times, analysts have warned that the "unrests in Afghanistan could provide a hotbed for terrorists targeting China's Xinjiang and its interests overseas including the CPEC projects." Political and regional instability has already hampered the CPEC project in Pakistan on numerous occasions. Last month, a bus blast in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province left 9 Chinese citizens working on the Dasu Hydropower Project dead. China had temporarily halted all work on the project after the incident.

About the CPEC project

Launched in 2015, the CPEC is the flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aimed at renewing the country's historic trade routes. With the CPEC, China hopes to extend its outreach in Pakistan and the Middle East and expand its influence in Southeast Asia. The CPEC would link Pakistan's southern Gwadar port (626 kilometres west of Karachi) in Balochistan on the Arabian Sea to China's western Xinjiang region via road, rail, and oil pipeline. For Pakistan, the project is expected to bring in massive investment from China, creating thousands of job opportunities. PM Imran Khan has repeatedly assured that the timely completion of CPEC projects is a top priority for the Pakistan government.

(With Agency Inputs)