Pakistan, China intensify efforts on Afghanistan stability

UN body allows Afghan FM to travel.

ISLAMABAD   -    Pakistan and China have inten­sified efforts for Afghanistan stability as the top diplomats of the three countries plan to meet next week in Islamabad to discuss the regional situa­tion and cooperation, officials said yesterday.

Yesterday, a UN Security Council committee agreed to allow the Taliban admin­istration’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to travel to Pakistan from Afghanistan next week to meet with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and China.

Muttaqi has long been sub­jected to a travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo un­der Security Council sanctions.

According to a letter to the 15-member Security Council Taliban sanctions committee, Pakistan’s UN mission request­ed an exemption for Muttaqi to travel between May 6-9 “for a meeting with the foreign minis­ters of Pakistan and China.”

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It did not say what the minis­ters would discuss but said Pa­kistan would cover all costs as­sociated with Muttaqi’s trip.

Chinese and Pakistani of­ficials have said in the past that they would welcome Tal­iban-led Afghanistan into the multibillion-dollar China-Paki­stan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure project, part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Senior Pakistani diplomats told The Nation that Pakistan and China had been discussing peace and stability in Afghani­stan for long.

“A stable Afghanistan is in Pa­kistan and China’s interest. En­gaging Afghanistan in CPEC will benefit all,” he said.

Another diplomat said Af­ghanistan will be urged to co­operate with the regional coun­tries and move forward instead of isolating itself. “Hopefully, the FMs meeting will bring re­sults,” he said.

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Afghanistan sits as a key geo­graphical trade and transit route between South and Cen­tral Asia and has billions of dol­lars of untapped mineral re­sources.

This week, UN Secre­tary-General Antonio Guterres began a two-day meeting in Doha with special envoys on Afghanistan from various countries that aims “to achieve a common understanding within the international com­munity on how to engage with the Taliban,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

He said the closed-door meeting would discuss key is­sues key issues, such as human rights - in particular women’s and girls’ rights - inclusive gov­ernance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking.

China, France, Germany, In­dia, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Ka­zakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Sau­di Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Britain, the United States, Uzbekistan, the Euro­pean Union and the Organisa­tion of Islamic Cooperation are taking part in the meeting. The Taliban administration was not invited to the Doha meeting.

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