Trilateral talks in Kabul

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi "carried a message of friendship and peace" to Kabul where he joined his counterparts from China and Afghanistan to take up a range of issues related to security and regional cooperation.

The daylong trilateral meeting was the second such huddle aimed at paving the way for a solution to the Afghan crisis through political means. The first one held in Beijing in December 2017 had helped Islamabad and Kabul make progress on the establishment of ‘Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity,’ which then became the new framework for steering the bilateral relations.

The signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on anti-terrorism cooperation marked the beginning of the trilateral meeting, with Qureshi noting that terrorism can only be wiped out through a collective effort, and Wang Yi of China saying that his country is making efforts to bring Pakistan and Afghanistan closer.

Both Pakistan and China reiterated their belief in negotiations being the way forward for bringing peace to Afghanistan. Qureshi insisted that since the beginning of the Afghan conflict, “Pakistan has advocated for dialogue instead of military action to achieve peace. Today the world is agreeing with our stance”.

Wang also insisted on the futility of war in providing a solution to any problem, and urged the Afghan Taliban to “take advantage of this chance for peace and hold negotiations”. On the assistance front, China announced it would be establishing connectivity projects including a rail line from Peshawar to Kabul and Kandahar.

Pakistan too will soon inaugurate Jinnah and Logar hospitals in Kabul in what is billed as ‘a gift from Pakistan’. Before leading the Pakistani delegation to Kabul, including Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and other Foreign Office representatives as well as military officials, Qureshi hoped for a quick warming of relations with Afghanistan given the stance adopted by Pakistan. With the trilateral talks ending, the foreign minister rightly said that the ball was now in Afghanistan’s court and “it has to decide which route they wish to take in order to achieve peace”.