Pakistan, Afghanistan, China to hold trilateral meet in Kabul next week

ISLAMABAD: Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will host Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kabul next week, Pakistani and Afghan sources said on Wednesday.

The sixth China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue will be held on August 20 to review decisions made at their informal meeting in Beijing in May this year. The fifth meeting took place in Islamabad in May 2023.

The trilateral mechanism is considered vital for addressing security challenges that pose serious threats to regional and global stability, as well as economic prosperity.

A joint statement issued after the fifth meeting stressed the need to prevent any individual, group, or party including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), and others from using any country’s territory for terrorism.

China views ETIM as a direct threat to its security and claims its members are based in Afghanistan. Afghan authorities maintain they do not allow their soil to be used against neighbours or other states.

The upcoming meeting comes amid a surge in militant violence in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. According to the Pakistan Army, around 50 militants were killed this week in anti-infiltration operations in the Sambaza area of Zhob district, Balochistan, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Pakistani officials have long claimed that armed groups operate from Afghan territory, a stance disputed by the Afghan Taliban.

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Launched in 2017, the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan trilateral forum has played a key role in reducing mistrust between Islamabad and Kabul while promoting regional trade and connectivity. In the May meeting in Beijing, ministers agreed to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into Afghanistan and enhance regional infrastructure development.

Deputy PM Dar said after that meeting that China had expressed interest in financing a strategic railway project linking Uzbekistan to Pakistan via Afghanistan. The framework agreement for a joint feasibility study of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Project was signed in Kabul in July.

MUTTAQI VISIT POSTPONEMENT

The trilateral talks will also provide an opportunity for Pakistan to explain the postponement of a planned visit by Amir Khan Muttaqi to Islamabad. While never officially announced, sources in both countries told Hum News English that the visit was scheduled for August 4–6.

This will be the first significant engagement since Pakistan upgraded its diplomatic relations with Kabul to ambassador level. It was reportedly the Chinese foreign minister who encouraged Pakistan and Afghanistan to take this step during the informal trilateral in Beijing.

BOOST FOR TALIBAN GOVERNMENT

The meeting is also seen as a diplomatic boost for the Afghan Taliban government, which has been in power since August 2021. In mid-July, Kabul hosted a trilateral with Pakistan’s deputy PM and Uzbekistan’s foreign minister, during which the railway framework agreement was signed.

While only Russia has formally recognised the Taliban government, several countries have increased political engagement with Kabul.

CHINESE FM’S ISLAMABAD VISIT

Sources told Hum News English that Wang Yi will pay a two-day official visit to Pakistan after attending the Kabul trilateral. The Foreign Office spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.