There’s actually another hot war in the Middle East which has been raging, quite apart from the Iran-US-Israel war. Pakistan and Afghanistan have been engaged in a tense border conflict for weeks at this point. The Associated Press on Monday described the latest developments in the following:
Afghanistan’s Taliban government on Monday accused Pakistan’s military of targeting a Kabul hospital that treats drug addicts in airstrikes that killed four people and wounded several others.
The attack came hours after Afghan officials said the two sides exchanged fire along their common border, killing four people in Afghanistan, as the deadliest fighting between the neighbors in years entered a third week.
It was on Feb. 27 that Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared an “all-out war” on Afghanistan, and began bombing border regions as well as the capital of Kabul.
Pakistan’s army has total force domination; however, the Taliban can still inflict pain through acts of terrorism, which Pakistani cities have suffered immensely under.
Acts of terror by Islamist groups have become almost a regular occurrence in Pakistan – with many suspected of having support through Afghanistan, which is precisely what Islamabad has cited as a key rationale for the war.
But now, China is seeking to directly coordinate de-escalation, reportedly attempting to broker a ceasefire between the two neighbors.
Beijing confirmed Monday that Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held phone calls with both Pakistani and Afghan counterparts in recent days as the situation continues to deteriorate.
“The MFA Special Envoy on Afghan Affairs has been shuttling between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in a statement on X. “China’s embassies have been in close communication with both sides as well.”
“China hopes Afghanistan and Pakistan will remain calm and exercise restraint, engage face to face ASAP, achieve a ceasefire at the earliest opportunity, and resolve differences and disputes through dialogue,” Jian said.
China over the last several years has been making deeper diplomatic inroads in the Middle East and central Asia, while playing its hand at “peacemaker” – and trying to contrast itself from Washington’s history of regime change wars in the same region.
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