ISLAMABAD: For the first time, Islamabad and Beijing have prevailed upon Kabul publicly that terrorist groups based inside Afghanistan and carrying out terrorist attacks and actions on Pakistan and China have to be stopped.
The development came after the conclusion of the 5th China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers Dialogue.
The issue of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was raised in the delegation level talks between Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the visiting Afghan Interim Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi. Again the threats from the TTP were raised in their one-on-one meeting and during the trilateral dialogue.
In a meeting with Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir the TTP continued threats against Pakistan were emphasised. China too is facing threats from the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) based inside Afghanistan and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang raised the issue during bilateral talks.
“The three sides stressed on the need for not allowing any individual, group or party, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) etc, to use their territories to harm and threaten regional security and interests, or conduct terrorist actions and activities. All three sides underscored the need for refraining from intervening into internal affairs of Afghanistan, and to promote Afghan peace, stability and reconstruction,” said the joint statement of the 5th China Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue, released by the Foreign Office on Monday.
The three sides underscored the need for tackling security challenges posing a serious threat to regional and global security, and directly impacting the stability and economic prosperity of the entire region.
This point of stability and the success of future CPEC projects was also raised by the Chinese Foreign Minister at a media briefing. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi held the 5th China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue in Islamabad on 6th of May 2023.
“Stressing that a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan serves the common interest of the region, the foreign ministers underscored the critical importance of trilateral cooperation in promoting this objective. The three sides resolved to further deepen and expand their cooperation in the security, development and political domains based on the principles of mutual respect, equal-footed consultation and mutual benefit,” said the Foreign Office .
Narcotics smuggled out of Afghanistan was also taken up in the trilateral dialogue and the three sides agreed to coordinate and cooperate on security, organised crimes, drugs smuggling etc.
The joint statement in this regard called on the international community to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and provide necessary supplies, equipment and technical assistance in this regard to the relevant countries.
Taking note of the Afghan interim government’s repeated assurances to respect and protect women’s rights and interests, the three sides called on the international community to support the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, and help Afghanistan to improve governance and strengthen the capacity building, so as to effectively protect the basic rights and interests of all segments of the Afghan society, including women and children.
As the cash strapped Pakistan continues to host Afghan refugees which continue to stream in, the ministers expressed appreciation to the neighbouring countries, in particular Pakistan, for the generous hospitality in hosting millions of Afghan refugees, and called on the international community to provide necessary support and assistance to these countries and Afghanistan for the dignified return and reintegration of refugees into the Afghan society.
Underscoring the imperative to generate economic activity within Afghanistan, the three ministers stressed the importance of exploring realistic pathways towards the revival of the Afghan economy. To this end, the ministers agreed to consider further supporting the reconstruction of Afghanistan and exploring trilateral investment possibilities aimed at industrialisation and job creation.
Expressing solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, the three sides stressed the importance of sustained and urgent humanitarian support to the people of Afghanistan including the imperative to bridge funding gaps for humanitarian operations. The ministers underlined that humanitarian support to the people of Afghanistan must remain delinked from any political considerations.
The three sides reaffirmed their resolve to fully harness Afghanistan’s potential as a hub for regional connectivity. Reaffirming their commitment to further the trilateral cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and to jointly extend the China Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan, the three sides stressed that the importance of existing projects including CASA-1000, TAPI, Trans-Afghan Railways etc would enhance regional connectivity as well as ensure economic uplift and prosperity for the peoples of this region.
The three sides emphasised to push forward the “hard connectivity” in infrastructure and “soft connectivity” in norms and standards, further explore the facilitating measures for the movement of people and trade activities between the three countries.
They also agreed to enhance transit trade through Gwadar Port. Expressing satisfaction at the existing trilateral cooperation, the three sides agreed to carry out exchange and training programmes and to strengthen people-to-people exchanges by conducting the trilateral programmes in line with the List of China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Practical Cooperation Projects, adopted by the foreign ministers in the dialogue.
The three sides reaffirmed to continue cooperation in areas of mutual interest like economic development, capacity building, and improving livelihoods. The ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields such as agriculture, trade, energy, capacity building, border management etc.
The ministers called upon the international community to engage constructively with the Afghan side. In this regard, they acknowledged the efforts made under the aegis of various mechanisms and formats, including in particular, the Neighbouring Countries of Afghanistan, to promote dialogue and constructive engagement with the interim afghan government. The three sides also urged the international community to assist Afghanistan in countering narcotics effectively and develop alternative crops to enhance its capacity for independent and sustainable development.
A call was made to the relevant countries lift their unilateral sanctions against Afghanistan and return the assets overseas for the benefit of the Afghan people, and create opportunities for economic development and prosperity.
