Terrorism in Afghanistan has gone from “bad to worse” after the withdrawal of the US troops, China has said and asked the country’s Taliban rulers to deliver on its pledge to rein in terrorist groups which pose problems for neighbouring countries, especially its close ally Pakistan. Pakistan is reeling under frequent terrorist attacks by the militant group TPP, which Islamabad alleges is based on Afghan soil.

“The terrorism went from bad to worse in Afghanistan. The number of Afghan terror groups has increased to more than 20 today,” Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said after presiding over the Afghan neighbouring states conference attended by his counterparts from Russia, Pakistan and Iran in Samarkand in Uzbekistan on Thursday. This is the fourth meeting of the Foreign Ministers convened by China, whose Uygur Muslim majority Xinjiang province shared borders with Afghanistan.

Beijing is also seeking to enhance its role in Afghanistan by backing the Taliban interim administration, prodding it to crack down on the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a separatist militant outfit in Xinjiang which allegedly has links with radical outfits like Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

But more significantly Pakistan which helped the Taliban for decades faced major problems from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), as it caused havoc in the country by carrying out numerous terrorist attacks. A joint statement issued at end of the Samarkand meeting  said the militant groups based in Afghanistan posed serious problems for neighbouring countries.