Mao Ning, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, announced that the country has asked the Taliban to investigate the murder of a Chinese citizen in Takhar and identify and punish the perpetrators.

Mao said that China was shocked by the attack and strongly condemned it.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday that the Chinese embassy in Kabul will follow up on the issue. She stressed that the embassy will make every effort to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and their security.

A Chinese citizen named "Li" was killed on Tuesday evening, January 21, in Khwaja Bahauddin district of Takhar. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the murder of the Chinese citizen.

In a statement on Wednesday, ISIS' broadcasting outlet Amaq said that the group's fighters had targeted and killed the Chinese national.

Mohammad Akbar Haqqani, a spokesman for the Taliban's security command in Takhar province, said that the Chinese citizen "was planning to travel to an unknown destination with his interpreter without informing the Chinese office and security officials from the office, but unfortunately he was killed by unknown people on the way to Dasht-e-Qala in Takhar province".

The Taliban said that they had launched an investigation into the matter.

Sources previously told Afghanistan International that the Taliban intelligence agency has interrogated the Chinese citizen's driver and translator.

ISIS has already claimed responsibility for attacks on Chinese citizens in Afghanistan. On December 12, 2022, ISIS attackers attacked a Chinese guesthouse in Kabul, wounding five Chinese citizens. After the incident, China's Foreign Ministry urged its citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately.