Regional consensus

Talks under Moscow Format have resulted in a consensus that the United States will not be allowed to regain foothold in Afghanistan by retaking control of the strategically important Bagram Airbase. A strongly-worded statement, issued after a meeting of 10 powerful regional countries held in the Russian capital on Tuesday, warned against "attempts by countries to deploy their military infrastructure in Afghanistan and neighbouring states, since this does not serve the interests of regional peace and stability".

That Afghanistan — a country struggling to find its feet after decades of war and infighting - is an odd one out in the region goes without saying. And a consensus among the regional powers — including the likes of China, Russia, Pakistan, India as well as central Asian states — to provide the war-riven country an unwavering support to rise as an independent, united and peaceful state is the need of the hour. Since connectivity, interdependence and collaboration, in the realms of economy in particular, are the demands of today's era, a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan, free from terrorism and external interferences, is in the interest of the whole region.

There is now need to walk the talk, for which the onus rests with Kabul as well. It's about time the Taliban dispensation came round to the fact that it can no longer avoid action against the terrorists groups, particularly the TTP, holed up inside Afghanistan. It is worth noting that many top Afghan Taliban leaders think of TTP as ideological brothers and have pushed for directly supporting the terrorist outfit, which is already better armed than it ever was, thanks to the availability of drones, American-made weapons and other equipment abandoned when US forces retreated from Afghanistan in 2001.

Now that the 10-stong Moscow Format platform has offered counter-terrorism cooperation, Kabul must undertake comprehensive measures aimed at eliminating terrorism from the Afghan soil.