Islamabad:
A group of 10 powerful and influential countries that included China, Russia, Iran, India and Pakistan on Tuesday opposed any attempt in the United States to recover their presence in Afghanistan, retaking the control of the strategically important Bagram air base.
Without explicitly naming the United States, a joint statement issued after Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan said: “They described as unacceptable attempts at the countries to deploy their military infrastructure in Afghanistan and neighboring states, since this does not serve the interests of regional peace and stability.”
The statement occurred in the context of the recent announcement of President Donald Trump in which he sought to resume control of the largest air installation in Afghanistan. The Taliban government already made it clear that it would not allow any foreign power to set foot on its ground.
The issue was on the agenda during the Moscow meeting attended by special representatives and senior officials of Afghanistan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzistan, Pakistan, Russia, Tayikistan and Uzbekistan.
For the first time the Afghan delegation headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amir Khan Mottaqi, participated in the deliberations as a member. The meeting was also attended as a guest of Belarus.
Pakistan was represented by Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq, who during a closed doors raised the question of terrorist hiding places in Afghanistan. In a statement published in X, Ambassador Sadiq said that in Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan, Pakistan reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to a peaceful, stable and safe Afghanistan.
“I talked about the urgent need for collective regional efforts to effectively counteract terrorism and dismantle all terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil,” he said.
“I also highlighted the importance of strengthening regional cooperation in political and economic fields, along with greater collaboration against terrorism and drugs. Continuous dialogue, cooperation and coordinated actions remain essential to address these challenges and support a lasting peace in the region.”
Meanwhile, the participants in their joint declaration reaffirmed their unspeakable support to the establishment of Afghanistan as an independent, united and peaceful state. They highlighted the need to develop economic and commercial exchanges, the cooperation in investment of Afghanistan with the countries of the region and the international community.
They expressed interest in developing regional economic projects with Afghan participation and promoting constant progress in fields such as health care, poverty relief, agriculture and disaster prevention, to help Afghanistan achieve independent and sustainable development at an early date.
They supported the active integration of Afghanistan in the regional connectivity system.
The parties reiterated their commitment to continue humanitarian support from the Afghan people and asked the international community to intensify the provision of emergency humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, while reaffirming the opposition to attempts to politicize it.
The parties asked to strengthen anti -terrorism cooperation both at the bilateral and multilateral level.
They emphasized that Afghanistan should be supported to adopt integral measures aimed at the elimination of terrorism and its eradication in a short period of time so that Afghan soil is not used as a threat to the safety of neighboring countries and beyond.
The parties stressed that terrorism constitutes a serious threat to the security of Afghanistan, the region and the world in general. The parties underlined the important role of regional frameworks.
The parties urged the main countries responsible for the current situation in Afghanistan to seriously fulfill the commitments on the economic recovery and future development of Afghanistan.
Apart from the session, the special representative of Pakistan for Afghanistan held a constructive and deep meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Muttaqi. The 90 -minute commitment focused on promoting bilateral cooperation in key areas, including economic cooperation, trade, traffic and regional security.
Both parties reaffirmed the importance of improving regional connectivity and agreed to explore practical measures to facilitate trade and traffic, particularly through simplified customs procedures and better infrastructure links.
Emphasis was placed on unlocking the potential of regional commercial corridors to benefit economic stability and development of the region in general. They also exchanged views on the current security situation, in particular the presence of terrorist groups, and their implications for cross -border trade and regional cooperation.
The two parties underlined the need for sustained dialogue and collaboration to address shared security concerns, guarantee the safety of transport routes and combat illegal activities.
