Pak, China, Russia agree to expand talks on Afghanistan

It was the third round of talks between the three countries on “deteriorating situation in Afghanistan”, particularly the rise of the militant Islamic State (IS) group also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh.

Russia, China and Pakistan have agreed to expand their tripartite consultations on Afghan conflict and include other countries, including Afghanistan, after Kabul objected to its absence from the regional discussions.

“The parties agreed to proceed with consultations in an expanded format and would welcome the participation of Afghanistan,” a joint statement issued after a meeting of the senior officials of the three countries said.

It was the third round of talks between the three countries on “deteriorating situation in Afghanistan”, particularly the rise of the militant Islamic State (IS) group also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh.

The previous two rounds of the tripartite meetings were not publicly disclosed. The third meeting was announced by the participating states in an indication of their growing confidence in their cooperation driven by the fear of IS gaining a foothold in Afghanistan. The announcement of the talks, however, annoyed Kabul, which questioned the effectiveness of a process on Afghanistan without its representation.

A spokesman for the Afghan Foreign Ministry, Ahmad Shekib Mostaghni, while speaking to media in Kabul cautioned that no initiative relating to Afghanistan could succeed without its involvement. “Even if such talks are organised with goodwill, [they] cannot yield any substantial results because no one from the Afghan side is there,” he said in a diplomatically couched criticism of the trilateral meeting.

(Source : greaterkashmir.com)

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