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kabul [Afghanistan]Jan 24 (ANI): Five men, including two Chinese nationals, have been arrested by the Taliban for allegedly smuggling around 1,000 metric tons of lithium-bearing rock into the country, local media reported.
According to reports, these Chinese nationals tried to smuggle these “gems” from Afghanistan to China through Pakistan through their Afghan allies.
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The arrest and confiscation of the rock took place in the eastern Afghan border city of Jalalabad, Reporterly reported.
According to local sources, the rocks contain up to 30 percent lithium and were “secretly” extracted from Nuristan and Kunar, two of several provinces in Afghanistan that border Pakistan.
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According to Reporterly, Taliban intelligence officials said in comments broadcast on Afghan TV channels on Sunday that Chinese nationals and their Afghan associates planned to illegally transport “gems” to China through Pakistan.
Relations between China and Afghanistan have become volatile since a bomb and shooting at a hotel on Dec. 12 wounded five Chinese nationals.
The attack led to a tepid stance from Beijing as China asked citizens to leave Afghanistan in its consultation.
In November, however, Afghanistan was seen negotiating with China to revive the ancient Silk Road trade route to help its shrinking economy. But Afghanistan seems to have the same plans as China.
On August 15, 2021, when the Taliban took over Afghanistan, China expressed its willingness to conduct friendly cooperation with this landlocked country. The Chinese Foreign Ministry also intends to play a constructive role in Afghanistan. In fact, China, along with Pakistan, Russia and Iran, has become a trusted ally of the Taliban regime, according to the Arab Post.
Beijing has approached the landlocked country with tact and caution—except for some cheap commodity deals, no big investments or aid. (Arnie)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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