Beijing, Feb 18 (IANS): China Tuesday condemned the killing of 23 security personnel in Pakistan by the Taliban while peace talks were going on, said Hua Chunying, foreign ministry spokeswoman.

"China has always supported the Pakistan government and people's efforts to safeguard national stability, to set and implement its security strategy in line with its own national conditions," Xinhua quoted Hua as saying.

China hoped Pakistan would find economic and social stability, Hua said, expressing condolences to the victims' families.

Negotiators nominated by the Pakistani Taliban and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the peace talks called for an end to all "violent action" to push the peace process forward after their first meeting in Islamabad last week.

In apparent deadlock, the government negotiation team Monday refused to meet the Taliban negotiators after they claimed the killing of the security personnel.

The Pakistani Taliban said that the 23 security personnel, who had been captured in 2010, were killed Sunday as revenge for what they called "extra-judicial killings of its detained activists".