Pakistan once again tried to convince the world to diplomatically engage with the Taliban in the expanded Troika Plus meeting on Thursday in Islamabad which was attended by the special representatives of China, Russia and the US.
"Today, Afghanistan stands at the brink of an economic collapse," the Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in remarks opening the meeting adding, any further downward slide would "severely limit" the new Taliban government’s ability to run the country. He urged the world to get engaged with the new Taliban government.
In a joint statement, the Troika Plus reminded the Taliban regime to uphold its international legal obligations, including universally accepted principles of international law and fundamental human rights, and protect the safety and legitimate rights of foreign nationals and institutions on its lands.
“The question of recognition would come later as at this stage the key issue is to evolve a regional and international consensus,” was decided in the meeting.
The new US special representative for Afghanistan, Tom West, who was in Brussels earlier to brief the NATO allies on US talks with the Taliban and is holding consultations on a “roadmap” toward recognition of the Afghan government, is on enroute to Moscow via Pakistan and India.
Qureshi warned that the world to let the Taliban access funds frozen by western donors as “doing so would benefit western countries.”
"If you think that you are far, Europe is safe and those areas you imagine will not be affected by terrorism, don’t forget the history," Qureshi warned,
"We have learned from history and we don’t want to repeat those mistakes made in the past."
Thomas West, however, made it clear that despite Taliban’s desire to normalize relations with the international community, to see a resumption in aid, to see a return of the international diplomatic community to Kabul and to see sanctions relief, it requires unity from allies on those issues, noting that Washington "can deliver none of these things on our own".
The special representatives of the US, China and Russia also met the foreign minister of Taliban regime Amir Khan Muttaqi who was in Pakistan for bilateral meetings.
Interestingly this Troika Plus meeting 24 hours after India hosted the “Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan” which was attended by security czars of 8 countries. But ‘iron” brothers, Pakistan and China, decided to skip the conclave. Instead, Pakistan hurriedly called for an extended Troika Plus meeting to undermine India’s initiative.
In a day-long deliberations on Afghanistan by National Security Advisors (NSAs) of eight neighboring countries in Delhi on Wednesday, it was decided that the Taliban has to prove that they have capabilities to run the government on its own, without the proxy regime of the Pakistani military establishment.
“Taliban government must first seek recognition from Loya Jirga (tribal council) and the religious council in Afghanistan before asking for international recognition”.
Also Read: Delhi Declaration proposes two-stage solution to achieve political transition in Afghanistan
