Taliban deny report on meeting with Afghan govt in China

PESHAWAR: Clearly reacting to the claim made a few days ago by Sartaj Aziz, the foreign affairs and national security adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that Pakistan had facilitated a recent reconciliation meeting between the Taliban and the Afghan
government in the Chinese city of Urumqi last month, the Afghan Taliban on Wednesday made it clear that nobody on their behalf had held any such talks.
The Taliban statement issued by its Rahbari Shura (Leadership Council) said
the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban shadown government) had set up a political office that is solely responsible for handling all its internal and external political activities.
“Ever since the inauguration of this Political Office, no one else has been granted permission to meet and discuss political affairs with anyone as a representative of Islamic Emirate without receiving prior authorization by either the leader of Islamic Emirate or the Political Office itself” the statement said.
It added that any meeting held or planned for the future by someone would be personal interaction and would in no way represent the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.Sartaj Aziz had also said in Islamabad that another meeting between the Afghan Taliban and Afghan government had been scheduled before the end of June.
He added that a major breakthrough in the Afghan peace and reconciliation process was expected in the next three months. Reacting swiftly to Sartaj Aziz’s claim, the Afghan Taliban denied they had held a meeting with an Afghan government delegation in Urumqi, capital of China’s Xinjiang province, or were planning to hold another meeting by the end of this month.
It may be added that Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, who at the time was secretary of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council and is has now been designated as the defence minister, had reportedly held a meeting with certain Afghan Taliban officials in Urumqi last month.