New Delhi: The fifth meeting of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan at the level of special representatives and senior officials from China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan concluded on Friday with the participating leaders urging the Afghan government to take effective measures to dismantle, eliminate and prevent the placement of all sorts of terrorist groups based in Afghanistan.
The meeting was also attended by the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan. Representatives of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Türkiye were in attendance as guests of honour. The parties noted with concern the difficult security situation in Afghanistan due to the intensification of the activities of terrorist groups, primarily ISIS.
Appreciated the current Afghan authorities for their serious fight against ISIS and urged them to do the same against all terrorist groups. They called on the current Afghan authorities to take effective measures to dismantle, eliminate and prevent the placement of all sorts of terrorist groups based in Afghanistan and to prevent the country from being a terrorism and instability hotspot and spreading to the regional states.
The leaders noted the reports on the reduction in poppy cultivation in Afghanistan due to the successful steps taken by current Afghan authorities. They further called on the current Afghan authorities to step up cooperation with the regional countries in the fight against the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking emanating from the Afghan territory. Most participants stressed their opposition to the support for terrorism in Afghanistan by external forces.
Regretfully, the representatives stated that there had been no progress in forming a truly inclusive government in Afghanistan, reflecting the interests of all ethno-political groups of the country. Despite the appointment of some individual representatives of various Afghan ethnicities to the Kabul administration, the parties observed no political pluralism in it
They urged the current Afghan authorities to establish a practical, outcome-oriented dialogue with the representatives of alternative ethnopolitical groups to complete the process of peaceful settlement and forging a balanced, more broad-based, inclusive, accountable, and responsible government in Afghanistan.
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Also, they called upon the current Afghan authorities to provide the necessary conditions to improve the welfare of the Afghan people, prevent their further migration and provide conditions for the return of the refugees. The participants spoke for respect of fundamental rights and freedom in Afghanistan, including equal rights to work, education and justice, without distinction as to gender, ethnicity, or religion. Stressed by their concern about imposed restrictions on women's employment and girls' education urged the current Afghan authorities to promote modern education in the schools conforming to international standards.
Most of the participants of the Moscow format noted the UN Secretary General's efforts to coordinate actions between international and regional partners on the Afghan track during the meeting of Special Representatives in Doha in May 2023 and observed that cooperation with non-regional players is possible if the US-led western coalition whose 20-year actions led to the current crisis in Afghanistan — recognises and shoulders its responsibility for post-conflict reconstruction of the country and unfreeze the Afghan national assets and lift unilateral sanctions, immediately.
The parties advocated for Afghanistan as an independent, united, and peaceful state. They underscored the unacceptability of the deployment of military infrastructure facilities of third countries in Afghanistan and its neighboring states under any pretext. While appreciating the prospects for the development of regional economic projects with the participation of Afghanistan, emphasised the need to strengthen bilateral and multilateral economic ties.
The parties reaffirmed the opposition to attempts at politicising humanitarian assistance and highlighted the importance of continuing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. They expressed their interest in expanding engagement with the current Afghan authorities in the areas of culture, sport and education. The parties noted the proposal of Iran to strengthen regional cooperation in Afghanistan by establishing a regional contact group to discuss the issues of common interests.
