Pakistan, China and Afghanistan pledged on Wednesday to reinforce joint efforts against the threat of terrorism and deepen their collaboration in key spheres.
A statement for this purpose followed the sixth dialogue of trilateral foreigners ministers held in Kabul between the Vice Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ishaq Dar, and his Chinese and Afghan counterparts, Wang Yi and Amir Khan Muttaqi, respectively, on the issues of political, economic and economic cooperation.
“The three parties promised to strengthen the joint efforts against terrorism. They also reaffirmed their commitment to deepen collaboration in commerce, transit, regional development, health, education, culture and the combination of drug trafficking, as well as the extension of the CPEC (Economic Corridor of China Pakistan) to Afghanistan,” said the foreign office (FO) at the meeting.
Before the meeting, Dar met with FM Muttaqi on the sidelines and it is said that they both noticed the positive movement of political and economic ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan. They also reaffirmed their commitment to work closely in anti -terrorism and guarantee peace and stability in the region.
The FOs said that the two welcomed the recent elevation of diplomatic representation between the two countries from the Charge d’Affires to the ambassador level.
His statement said that both had indicated with appreciation that most of the decisions of recent interactions had been implemented or were about to end, and added that these efforts had significantly strengthened bilateral relations, particularly in the areas of commerce and transit.
FM Dar “acknowledged the encouraging progress in political and commercial ties, while expressing that progress in the security domain, especially in tranquerrorismo, continues late,” said the FO, and added that Dar had highlighted a recent increase in terrorist attacks within Pakistan perpetrated by groups that operate from the Afghan soil.
The FO added that he urged the Afghan authorities to take “concrete and verifiable measures” against banned groups such as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and the Baluchistan Liberation Army Brigade/Majeed Brigade.
The FO said that Muttaqi reaffirmed Afghanistan’s commitment to ensure that his territory was not used by any terrorist group against Pakistan or other nations.
FM to land today in Kabul today for the trilateral meeting and was received by Afghan deputy Dr. Mohammad Naeem, other Afghan officials and the Pakistan ambassador to Afghanistan, Ubaidur Rehman Nizamani.
On May 21, Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed in principle to improve their diplomatic relations by exchanging ambassadors, a key step to normalize ties after years of tense relations between Islamabad and the Taliban administration in Kabul.
Understanding was achieved during an informal trilateral meeting of foreign ministers of Pakistan, China and Afghanistan in Beijing. The conversations were part of Beijing’s broader effort to relieve regional tensions and advance connectivity through its Belt and Road initiative.
Pakistan and China had also indicated that there was an agreement on the extension of the China-Pakistan economic corridor to Afghanistan.
China, which has strategic interests in regional stability and economic integration, organized the meeting to help resume the trilateral dialogue of China-Affanistan-Pakistan, which had stopped since 2023.
The key results of the Beijing meeting also included commitments to improve cooperation in security and anti-terrorism, including joint action against militant groups and external interference and an understanding of formally resuming the trilateral process by convening the sixth dialogue of foreign ministers of China-Affanistan-Pakistan-Pakistan in Kabul.
At the beginning of that month, the Afghan government had asked “mutual respect and constructive commitment” with Pakistan and China, according to a statement issued by its Interior Ministry.
The statement was issued after special envoys from Pakistan and China, Mohammad Sadiq and Yue Xiaoyong, met with the Minister of the Interior Afghan Sirajuddin Haqqani in Kabul.
