Kabul/Islamabad, March 28 (AHN) China’s efforts to mediate between Islamabad and Kabul appear to have reached a dead end, raising significant doubts about its influence in both countries – especially in Pakistan, a report has revealed.

According to a report in international magazine 'The Diplomat', despite the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s assertion that both Afghanistan and Pakistan expressed their “willingness to resolve the issues", the initial response to Beijing’s mediation seemed unenthusiastic, particularly from the Pakistani side.

"After unsuccessful efforts to mediate between Pakistan and Afghanistan by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, China initiated efforts to resolve the conflict in its neighbourhood, which Pakistan has declared an 'open war'. The fighting started in October of last year when both Pakistan and Afghanistan conducted strikes inside each other’s territory. Even though a ceasefire was brokered, with mediation by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, the attacks from both sides eventually resumed due to unresolved underlying issues," the report detailed.

The renewed conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan triggered significant concerns for China, a key ally, economic partner, and neighbour of both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Accordingly, the report said, Beijing actively stepped up efforts to resolve the conflict, given its substantial interests in both countries.

“After Pakistan launched its Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against the Taliban on February 27, China expressed its deep concerns and asked both sides ‘to remain calm; exercise restraint; properly resolve differences and disputes through dialogue and negotiation; end the fighting as soon as possible; and avoid more suffering'," the report noted.

China intensified its mediation efforts in the first and second weeks of March, when its special envoy for Afghanistan, Yu Xiaoyong, visited Islamabad and Kabul in an effort to broker a ceasefire between the two countries.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, Yue Xiaoyong visited Afghanistan and Pakistan to conduct shuttle mediation regarding the recent conflicts between the two nations between March 7 and 14.

Citing media reports from Pakistan, The Diplomat said Islamabad had turned down Beijing’s efforts to end the conflict, pointing to the Taliban's unchanged stance on the presence of militant groups in Afghanistan.

The report stressed that China’s mediation efforts between Pakistan and Afghanistan appear to be yielding no result.

"Pakistan’s apathetic response to China’s efforts points to one of two different scenarios. One, Pakistan is genuinely not interested in negotiating a deal with the Taliban until the threat of militant groups operating from Afghanistan – which the Taliban regime denies – is obliterated, with or without the Taliban’s help. Two, Pakistan’s growing closeness with the United States under the Trump administration has given it enough leverage to defy China's wishes," it stated.