KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s Foreign Minister, says that negotiations between the Taliban delegation and Pakistan are still ongoing in the city of Urumqi, China.
Muttaqi stated today (Sunday, April 5) at the opening of the “Afghanistan-Central Asia Consultative Dialogue” in Kabul that the Taliban are participating in these negotiations “with sincerity and a solution-oriented approach.”
He added that the Taliban have always “sought to resolve issues through understanding, dialogue, and relations based on respect and mutual comprehension; however, they reserve the right to defend their territorial integrity and their people.”
The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that the group had sent a delegation to Urumqi, China, to hold talks with Pakistan.
The ministry added that these negotiations are being held at the initiative and request of China.
So far, no details of the negotiation process between the two sides in Urumqi, China, have been released.
Four days earlier, Pakistani outlet Khorasan Diary reported that officials from both sides were scheduled to meet on April 1 in Urumqi to discuss reducing tensions. The report noted that the meeting was arranged during the visit of China’s Special Representative Yu Xiaoyong to Kabul and Islamabad, and that both sides agreed to keep the talks low-profile until meaningful progress is achieved.
China has also expressed concern over the presence of militant groups in Afghanistan that threaten its citizens and interests. In January, a suicide bombing at a Chinese-run restaurant in Kabul’s Shahr-i-Naw neighborhood killed one Chinese national and six Afghan civilians, while wounding five other Chinese nationals. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).
In addition, Chinese nationals have been targeted near the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border in recent months. In December 2025, at least five Chinese contractors working in the border area were killed and five others injured in two separate attacks launched from Afghanistan. Following these incidents, China urged Tajikistan to investigate and advised its citizens to leave the border region.
In recent months, China has played an increasingly active diplomatic role in facilitating dialogue between Pakistan and the Taliban, seeking to reduce tensions through negotiation rather than confrontation. By engaging both sides and hosting talks in Urumqi, Beijing has positioned itself as a neutral mediator focused on regional stability.
The visits of China’s Special Representative, Yu Xiaoyong, to Kabul and Islamabad helped lay the groundwork for these discussions, reflecting China’s broader interest in preventing escalation along its western periphery. Through these efforts, China has emphasized dialogue, mutual understanding, and conflict de-escalation as the preferred path forward for both parties
The conflict between the Taliban and Pakistan has been ongoing for about one and a half months.
Pakistan and the Taliban, once allies, have clashed repeatedly along the border in recent months after Islamabad accused the Taliban of sheltering members of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) responsible for dozens of deadly attacks inside Pakistan. UN figures indicate at least 289 civilians were killed or injured in Pakistani airstrikes across several provinces since late February, before the Kabul strike.
The escalation marks one of the most serious spikes in tensions between the two sides in recent months. The Taliban authorities have accused Pakistan of violating Afghan sovereignty, while Islamabad has previously said its operations target militant groups it claims operate from Afghan territory.
