Chinese FM headed to Pakistan from India to meet Pak leaders, Taliban FM
Pakistan will cover the costs of Muttaqi’s visit, the Reuters report said
China’s foreign minister Qin Gang will visit Islamabad from May 5 to 6 to attend the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue in Pakistan, his first visit to Beijing’s “ironclad” ally after taking over the ministry, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning announced on Thursday.
The formal announcement of Qin’s visit came on a day when the Chinese minister was in Panaji to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting and other engagements on its margins.
Earlier this week, an United Nations Security Council committee agreed to allow the Taliban’s interim foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, to travel to Pakistan from Afghanistan to meet Pakistani and Chinese counterparts.
The Reuters news agency reported on Monday that Pakistan’s UN mission requested an exemption for Muttaqi to travel between May 6 and 9 “for a meeting with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and China”.
Muttaqi is facing a travel ban and an asset freeze under UN Security Council sanctions.
Pakistan will cover the costs of Muttaqi’s visit, the Reuters report said.
