|
Taliban officials and Afghanistan's business community is now irked over fake Chinese promises to invest in Afghanistan as no groundwork has picked pace and the country is been exploited of its natural resources, media reports said.
Much to the Taliban's dismay, China's main apprehension is Afghanistan's potential to become a haven for extremist groups with ties to East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), reported media outlet Afghan Diaspora. Xinjiang is widely known for China's persecution of the Uyghur minority. China now fears that Afghanistan will be influenced by the ETIM movement in Xinjiang. The geographical location of Xinjiang is such that the extremist groups in Afghanistan with the help of the 90 km long Wakhan corridor between Pakistan and Tajikistan, can reach Xinjiang. There are historical linkages between East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and the Taliban is also a matter of concern for Beijing. As per China East Turkistan Islamic Movement seeks to liberate Xinjiang Province and the Uyghur people from Chinese government control and impose an Islamic ideology. Other terrorist outfits such as Al-Qaeda and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) also pose a threat to China. Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) makes matters worse. China is concerned by ISKP's campaigns that rake up the Uyghur issue, reported Afghan Diaspora. Afghanistan's economy is already in shambles. The international community has not recognized the Taliban-led government in power. Afghanistan's overseas funds are also frozen. Under these circumstances, Chinese investment is a ray of hope for the Taliban. However, promising is one thing and actually investing in the country is another. All the Chinese investments are lingering on while the Afghans continue to face the risk of acute hunger. There are no development activities despite Beijing's promises to fill the vacuum created by the US withdrawal through investments. There is always much fanfare when Chinese companies visit Kabul. They hold wide-ranging discussions with the business communities including the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Investment but hardly something is manifested into a reality. In one such development project, China launched a new railroad line connecting Afghanistan with China through Central Asian countries. The first containers departed from China on September 13. China also announced a tariff waiver on 98 per cent of Afghan goods. However, these measures were unlikely to bring any relief for Afghanistan, which was primarily a natural resources country with its export potential limited for want of industrialization, the media portal reported. Afghanistan is a resource-rich country and China has been exploiting it. Afghanistan's USD 1-3 trillion worth of mineral deposits, including highly coveted rare earth elements (REE), are exploited. According to US Geological Survey, Afghanistan has 16 trillion cubic feet of gas, 500 billion barrels of liquified natural gas, and 1.6 trillion barrels of crude oil. Access to resource-rich Afghanistan would serve China's economic ambitions. (ANI)
|
