Terrorism in Afghanistan has gone from "bad to worse" after the withdrawal of the US troops, China has said and asked the country's Taliban rulers to deliver on its pledge to rein in terrorist groups which pose problems for neighbouring countries, especially its close ally Pakistan.
Pakistan is reeling under frequent terrorist attacks by the militant group TPP, which Islamabad alleges is based on Afghan soil.
“The terrorism went from bad to worse in Afghanistan. The number of Afghan terror groups has increased to more than 20 today," Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said after presiding over the Afghan neighbouring states conference attended by his counterparts from Russia, Pakistan and Iran in Samarkand in Uzbekistan on Thursday.
This is the fourth meeting of the Foreign Ministers convened by China, whose Uygur Muslim majority Xinjiang province shared borders with Afghanistan.
Beijing is also seeking to enhance its role in Afghanistan by backing the Taliban interim administration, prodding it to crack down on the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a separatist militant outfit in Xinjiang which allegedly has links with radical outfits like Al Qaeda and Islamic State.
But more significantly Pakistan which helped the Taliban for decades faced major problems from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), as it caused havoc in the country by carrying out numerous terrorist attacks.
A joint statement issued at end of the Samarkand meeting also attended by Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said the militant groups based in Afghanistan posed serious problems for neighbouring countries.
“The Ministers emphasised their deep concerns regarding the terrorism-related security situation in Afghanistan, and pointed out that all terrorist groups, namely the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-KP), Al-Qaeda, the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Jaish al-Adl etc. based in Afghanistan continue to pose a serious threat to regional and global security," the joint statement said.
“The Ministers took note of the Afghan interim government's efforts to counter ISIS-KP, and urged it to take more visible and verifiable measures in upholding its stated commitments on counter-terrorism, dismantling and eliminating all sorts of terrorist groups, with a view to preventing the soil of Afghanistan from being used by any terrorist group," it said.
Pakistan which had celebrated the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan after the sudden pullout of the US troops in 2021 faced a piquant situation as the Afghan militant group heading the interim administration declined Islamabad's repeated pleas to crack down on the TPP, whose terrorist attacks were adding to Pakistan’s economic woes.
“There is no doubt that the militants’ strength largely lies in Afghanistan. The TTP uses Afghan soil and has the full backing of the Taliban regime. Baloch insurgents are also using Afghan and Iranian soil," Muhammad Amir Rana, a columnist with Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, wrote recently in the daily.
“But the Taliban regime repeatedly denies the claim that Afghan soil is being used against Pakistan. Most official and independent assessments, however, indicate otherwise," he said.
The Samarkand meeting also called on the Afghan authorities to promote inclusive governance and protect the basic rights and interests of all Afghan people, including women, children and ethnic minorities.
They stressed that the US and its allies bear the historical responsibility for the current difficult situation in Afghanistan, should immediately lift their unilateral sanctions against Afghanistan and return the assets overseas belonging to the Afghan people.
They also said the US must not build any more military bases in Afghanistan and the region, a press release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
-With PTI Input
