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China denies contacts with Taliban

Beijing, October 23
China today vehemently denied maintaining contacts with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and rejected reports that it paid millions of dollars to terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden to get unexploded US-made cruise missiles launched at his camps in 1998.

“At the moment, China has no relations of any kind with the Taliban,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi told reporters when asked to comment on claims by Taliban commander-in-chief Jalaluddin Haqqani, that the militia was “in touch” with China, which was assisting them in the war against the USA.

In the past, China has acknowledged having contacts with all factions, including the Taliban in Afghanistan. However, it says that since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the USA, China has not maintained any contact with the Taliban.

According to reports from Islamabad, Haqqani, who was in the Pakistani capital to hold talks with officials, told reporters that “China is still assisting the Taliban in the war against the United States”.

He also said the Afghan militia “continued to be in touch with Beijing”.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman also denied a report that China paid Bin Laden several million dollars for access to unexploded US cruise missiles following an attack on his bases three years ago. PTI