Trilateral meeting: China backs Pak-Afghan appeal for peace talks

Three-way meeting of senior officials held in Islamabad.

ISLAMABAD:

China on Thursday threw its weight behind the recent joint appeal launched by Pakistan and Afghanistan to the Taliban to renounce violence and enter into peace talks.

Beijing’s support for the initiative came during a trilateral meeting of senior officials from Pakistan, Afghanistan and China in Islamabad, officials said.

It was the second meeting of what is called the ‘Pakistan-Afghanistan-China Trilateral Dialogue’ since the three countries decided last year to increase their contacts to discuss the Afghan endgame. The group’s first meeting took place in Beijing earlier this year.

According to an official statement, the three-way talks were attended by Pakistan’s director general of the Afghan desk at the foreign office, Syed Abrar Hussain, Afghanistan’s director general at the foreign ministry, Azizuddin Ahmadzada, and China’s Counselor of the department of Asian Affairs at the foreign office, Huang Xilian.

Sources said China also welcomed the recent move by Pakistan to release some Afghan Taliban prisoners from its custody in an attempt to help advance the Afghan reconciliation process in the war-torn country.

A senior foreign ministry official said the three sides discussed the regional situation with special reference to Afghanistan, efforts for peace and reconciliation and trilateral cooperation in various fields.

Pakistan and China reiterated their support to the ‘Afghan-led and Afghan-owned’ peace and reconciliation process, the official added.

The statement further stated that the three countries agreed that an intra-Afghan inclusive dialogue would ensure durable peace and stability in Afghanistan.

It also welcomed the Afghan High Peace Council’s visit to Islamabad and the joint press statement issued after the visit.

The increased involvement of China in the Afghan endgame is attributed to efforts by certain regional countries opposing US attempts to impose its solution on Afghanistan.

A statement issued by the foreign office also indicated that the Pakistan and China were seeking a regional solution to the Afghan war.

“They (Pakistan, Afghanistan, China) agreed that the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) can play an important role in peace and stability in the region and that the SCO regional mechanism can provide better solutions to the emerging new security, political and economic challenges,” the joint statement said.

The statement highlights the concerns of Pakistan and China over efforts by the US to establish a new regional mechanism involving countries in the Afghan endgame, which do not share any borders with Afghanistan.

Pakistan and China believe that there is no need for any new regional mechanism as existing forums can be used to discuss challenges facing Afghanistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2012.