Pakistan, China, Afghanistan foreign ministers meet in Kabul for trilateral talks

The foreign ministers of Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan are meeting in Kabul on Wednesday for the sixth round of trilateral talks focused on trade, regional cooperation, and counter-terrorism.

The dialogue follows a similar round in Beijing in May, which eased tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. That meeting led to agreements on expanding trade, extending the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into Afghanistan, and a joint pledge that no country’s soil would be used for terrorist activities against another.

Pakistan is represented by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and special envoy for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq, according to the Foreign Ministry. Dar will also hold a bilateral meeting with the acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi to discuss bilateral issues.

Former ambassador to China, the U.S., and the U.N., Sardar Masood Khan, told Nukta the talks represent “a new troika, a new mini security architecture of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan that has initiated work for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.”

Groundwork laid during May talks: Ex-envoy

He said groundwork had already been laid during the Beijing talks and through follow-up visits by Pakistani ministers to Kabul.

“For Pakistan, the topmost priority is elimination of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil,” Khan said.

“With the help of China, Afghanistan and Pakistan can work on regional development projects, such as the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan rail link and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan gas pipeline. More importantly, both countries – Afghanistan and Pakistan – can be integrated into the Belt and Road Initiative under the umbrella of CPEC.”

Khan noted that the May round in Beijing helped “build confidence, remove misgivings, counter terrorism, and focus single-mindedly on stability and economic development.”

He said the decision to expand CPEC into Afghanistan was agreed “in principle” at that time and that it also brought “a much-needed thaw” between Islamabad and Kabul.

Counter-terror top agenda

On counter-terrorism, Khan stressed that Pakistan is expecting Kabul to deliver on its assurances.

“Countering terrorism carried out by groups using Afghan soil is an absolute priority for Pakistan,” he said.

“In the recent past, Afghan leadership assured us of some concrete steps they were taking to deny use of Afghan soil to TTP and other terrorist groups and to relocate them towards the western parts of Afghanistan. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. We trust that if Afghan leadership exercises its political will and influence, TTP attacks inside Pakistan could be stopped.”

He added that if terrorism is curtailed, “trade and economic cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan would flourish and we would use our border for establishing contiguous corridors for investment that would benefit the peoples of the two countries.”

Wednesday’s trilateral talks are expected to build on the Beijing momentum and produce further breakthroughs in security and economic cooperation.