Pakistan, Afghanistan, China hold first trilateral talks
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar landed in Kabul today for the first formal trilateral meeting between China, Pakistan and Afghanistan in two years. Dar was accompanied by Pakistan's former ambassador in Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq.
The three countries made commitments to combat terrorism and deepen collaboration in areas of health, education, culture, drug trafficking, and also offering Afghanistan an extension to CPEC, according to Foreign Office.
In a statement released by the Afghan Foreign Ministry 'Pakistan was urged to uphold the rights of Afghan refugees residing in the country and Ishaq Dar expressed determination to further expand trade with Afghanistan.'
There was an emphasis on combating terrorism by Dar, 'he highlighted a recent surge in terrorist attacks inside Pakistan perpetrated by groups operating from Afghan soil, urging the Afghan authorities to take concrete and verifiable measures against entities such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA)/Majeed Brigade,' according to a statement released by the Foreign Office.
The Afghan delegation reiterated their commitment to ensuring that Afghan territory is not used by any terrorist group against any other nation.
Afghanistan and China had held bilateral talks earlier that day where they discussed economic cooperation. According to a tweet by the Afghan Foreign Ministry, 'Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi presented his practical proposals regarding the expansion of economic cooperation between Afghanistan and China, particularly in the areas of transportation cooperation, banking relations and balancing trade.'
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, currently doing a South Asian tour, is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad to co-chair the 6th Pakistan-China foreign ministers strategic dialogue on 21st August. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also set to visit Beijing later this month for the Shanghai organisation summit and hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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