China says envoy sent on Afghanistan-Pakistan mediation mission

China urged an immediate ceasefire after deadly cross-border clashes flared. Read more at straitstimes.com.

BEIJING – China said on March 16 its special envoy had spent a week mediating between Afghanistan and Pakistan and had urged an immediate ceasefire after deadly cross-border clashes flared.

South Asian neighbours Pakistan and Afghanistan have had a strained relationship for months, after dozens of people were killed in fighting in October 2025.

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of harbouring militants from the Pakistani Taliban, who have claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks in Pakistan, as well as from the local offshoot of the Islamic State group.

The Afghan Taliban authorities deny the charge.

Pakistan is one of China’s closest partners in the region, but Beijing also calls itself a “friendly neighbour” of Afghanistan.

“China has consistently mediated the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan through its own channels,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular news briefing.