China, Russia, Pakistan and Iran urge Afghan Taliban to stop harboring terrorists

ISLAMABAD: In a major diplomatic victory for Pakistan, China, Russia, and Iran have confirmed that several terrorist groups, including the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Majeed Brigade, and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), are operating from Afghanistan and pose a threat to neighbouring countries.

On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, a four-way meeting was held between the foreign ministers of Pakistan, China, Russia, and Iran.

According to the joint statement issued after the meeting, the four foreign ministers rejected the Afghan Taliban’s claims that they were not providing shelter to any terrorist group, including the TTP.

The foreign ministers expressed deep concern over the security situation in Afghanistan related to terrorism.

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They highlighted that terrorist groups such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), TTP, Jaish-ul-Adl, the BLA and the Majeed Brigade are hiding in Afghanistan and continue to pose a serious threat to regional and global security.

The four countries strongly condemned the terrorist acts perpetrated by these groups against neighbouring and other countries and called for enhanced cooperation on counter-terrorism at multilateral levels.

The joint statement demanded that the Taliban government honour its international commitments not to allow Afghan territory to be used for terrorism against any other country.

The statement added that Afghanistan should be supported in addressing both the symptoms and root causes of terrorism, and that comprehensive measures should be taken to eliminate terrorism as soon as possible.

The foreign ministers also praised regional states, particularly Pakistan and Iran, for hosting millions of Afghan refugees.