BREAKING NEWS

Afghan Taliban delegation visits China to discuss unrest

A delegation from the Taliban visited China earlier this month to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, where the insurgent movement is fighting the Western-backed government in Kabul, sources in the Taliban said.
A delegation led by Abbas Stanakzai, head of the Taliban's political office in Qatar, visited Beijing on July 18-22 at the invitation of the Chinese government, a senior member of the Taliban said.
"We have good terms with different countries of the world and China is one among them," said the Taliban official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"We informed Chinese officials about the occupation by invading forces and their atrocities on Afghan people," he said. "We wanted the Chinese leadership to help us raise these issues on world forums and help us get freedom from occupying forces."
The visit was confirmed by other senior Taliban figures who did not want to be named because they were not authorized to speak on behalf of the Qatar political office.
The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.