IRIA News

US, China, Russia, Pakistan officials hold ‘Troika Plus’ dialogue on Afghanistan

On November 11, 2021, Pakistan hosted a ‘Troika Plus’ meeting between the U.S. Russia, and China envoys on Afghanistan. The Taliban government representatives also attended the meeting.

Chinese special envoy Yue Xiaoyong, Russian presidential envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov, and U.S. special representative Thomas West attended the meeting. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, special envoy for Afghanistan Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq, Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Khan, and Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood represented Pakistan at the dialogue. The representatives from the U.S., China, Russia, and Pakistan also met with the Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi who arrived in Islamabad on November 10.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi inaugurated the ‘Troika Plus’ dialogue and urged that “engagement with Afghanistan must not only continue but should be enhanced” to address common concerns and challenges.

“Nobody wishes to see a relapse into civil war, no one wants an economic collapse that will spur instability; everyone wants terrorist elements operating inside Afghanistan to be tackled effectively and; we all want to prevent a new refugee crisis,” Qureshi said.

During the meeting, the participants also discussed ways to cooperate and bail out Afghanistan from an imminent economic collapse. Pakistan warned that Afghanistan stands at the “brink of an economic collapse” and called the international community to continue humanitarian aid so people can meet their urgent basic needs. “It is crucial that the international community avoids repeating mistakes of the past and continues with positive engagement,” Qureshi said.

The U.S. special representative Thomas West posted on his Twitter: “Parties reaffirmed the centrality of Taliban fulfilling terrorism commitments, working with fellow Afghans on inclusive governance, & protecting the rights of all Afghans, especially women and girls.”

“We are all focused on deteriorating humanitarian situation and meeting urgent needs, including to support UN scaling up. The international community must speak with one voice and act with common purpose,” Thomas West added.

“We are confident that Troika Plus’s engagement with the new Afghan government will help consolidate peace and stability, promote sustainable economic development and help constrict space for terrorist outfits operating from and within Afghanistan,” Pakistan’s foreign minister said.

The dialogue presented an opportunity to special envoys from the four nations to hold the first meeting with the Taliban representatives since the interim government was established in Afghanistan.

During the Troika plus dialogue, the participants also urged the Taliban to form an inclusive and representative government in Afghanistan, work with fellow Afghans to protect the rights of all citizens, and provide equal rights for women and girls to participate in all aspects of society.

However, in response to the international community’s calls for an inclusive government in Afghanistan, the Taliban interim foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on November 12 that the new government of Afghanistan comprises members of all the major ethnicities of Afghanistan, including Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Hazaras.

The Taliban interim foreign minister Muttaqi said “If by being inclusive, it means having members of the opposition and the previous Ashraf Ghani government, then show me one country in the world which has members of opposition serving in government.”

Muttaqi also stated that “no woman” or members of the minority community serving in government positions in Afghanistan had been removed from their position since the Taliban came to power in the country.

Joint Statement on Troika Plus meeting:

On 11 November 2021, Islamabad hosted a meeting of the extended Troika, comprising Pakistan, China, Russia, and the United States to discuss the latest situation in Afghanistan. The extended Troika met with senior Taliban representatives on the sidelines of the meeting.

In the spirit of the discussion, as well as building on previous outcomes of Troika and extended Troika meetings, the four participating states:

• Expressed deep concern regarding the severe humanitarian and economic situation in Afghanistan and reiterated unwavering support for the people of Afghanistan.

• Recalled the relevant Afghan – related UNSC Resolutions, including respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan that is free of terrorism and drug related crime, and that contributes to regional stability and connectivity.

• Welcomed the Taliban’s continued commitment to allow for the safe passage of all who wish to travel to and from Afghanistan and encouraged rapid progress, with the onset of winter, on arrangements to establish airports countrywide that can accept commercial air traffic, which are essential to enable the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian assistance.

• Called on the Taliban to work with fellow Afghans to take steps to form an inclusive and representative government that respects the rights of all Afghans and provides for the equal rights of women and girls to participate in all aspects of Afghan society.

• Agreed to continue practical engagement with the Taliban to encourage the implementation of moderate and prudent policies that can help achieve a stable and prosperous Afghanistan as soon as possible.

• Emphasized that access to education for women and girls at all levels is an international obligation and encouraged the Taliban to accelerate efforts to provide for full and equal access to education countrywide.

• Welcomed the international community’s urgent provision of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and expressed grave concern at the potential for an economic collapse and significantly worsening humanitarian crisis and a new refugee wave.

• Called on the Taliban to ensure unhindered humanitarian access, including by women aid workers, for the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan to respond to the developing crisis.

• Welcomed the greater role of United Nations as a coordinator in such fields as contributing to stability and delivering emergency assistance.

• Urged the United Nations and its specialized agencies to develop programs to implement the international community’s commitments to support the people of Afghanistan.

• Condemned in the strongest terms the recent terrorist attacks in Afghanistan and called on the Taliban to cut ties with all international terrorist groups, dismantle and eliminate them in a decisive manner, and to deny space to any terrorist organization operating inside the country.

• Reaffirmed their expectation that the Taliban will fulfill their commitment to prevent use of Afghan territory by terrorists against its neighbors, other countries in the region and the rest of the world.

• Called on the Taliban to take a friendly approach towards neighboring countries and to uphold Afghanistan’s international legal obligations, including universally accepted principles of international law and fundamental human rights and to protect the safety and legitimate rights of foreign nationals and institutions in Afghanistan.

• Acknowledged international humanitarian actors’ concerns regarding the country’s serious liquidity challenges and committed to continue focusing on measures to ease access to legitimate banking services.

• Called on the international community to take concrete actions to provide Afghanistan with help against COVID-19.

End of Joint Statement (Source: U.S. DoS)

Earlier on November 10, India also hosted a regional security dialogue on Afghanistan, which was attended by representatives from India, Iran, Russia, and Central Asian states. Although the eight-nation meeting provided a platform for regional countries to discuss the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan, the dialogue could not make significant progress on reaching conclusive results as representatives from the U.S., China, Pakistan, and the Taliban government did not participate in the meeting held in New Delhi. China claimed schedule conflicts, while Pakistan boycotted the meeting and accused India of being a “spoiler” in the region not a “peacemaker” in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban representatives were also not invited to the India-led meeting.

Before the Taliban took over Kabul and established its government in Afghanistan, India provided Afghan security forces with combat training and military equipment. Although it did not have troops stationed on the ground, India was considered one of the largest supporters of the previous Afghan government.

Since the Taliban set up an interim Afghan government, Russia, China, and Pakistan continued engagements with Afghanistan through their embassies in Kabul. Three neighboring countries also held several bilateral meetings with the Taliban representatives and agreed to continue humanitarian aid as well as launched a number of steps to help the common people of Afghanistan.