ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan, Afghanistan and China on Wednesday pledged to strengthen joint efforts against terrorism as Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar urged the Taliban regime to take decisive and verifiable steps against the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
The foreign ministers of China and Pakistan travelled to Kabul to attend the trilateral meeting. This was Wang Yi’s first visit to Kabul since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan.
On the sidelines of the trilateral meeting, both Dar and Wang held separate bilateral talks with the Afghan authorities. The Chinese foreign minister told the Afghan acting prime minister, Mullah Akhund, that he hoped the Taliban government would “pay special attention” to the security concerns of Beijing.
During the meeting with Afghan acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, Foreign Minister Dar raised the issue of the presence of TTP, BLA and Majeed Brigade on Afghan soil.
“The deputy prime minister/foreign minister acknowledged the encouraging progress in political and commercial ties, while expressing progress in the security domain, especially in counterterrorism, continues to lag behind,” read a statement issued by the Foreign Office in Islamabad.
He highlighted a recent surge in terrorist attacks inside Pakistan perpetrated by groups operating from Afghan soil, urging the Afghan authorities to take concrete and verifiable measures against entities such as TTP and BLA/Majeed Brigade. “The Afghan acting foreign minister reaffirmed Afghanistan’s commitment to ensuring its territory is not used by any terrorist group against Pakistan or other nations,” according to the statement.
Dar’s statement indicated Pakistan’s frustration over the lack of cooperation from the Taliban authorities to tackle the security problem.
While the foreign minister voiced concerns over the security problem, both ministers expressed satisfaction with the positive trajectory of bilateral relations between their countries. They welcomed the recent elevation of diplomatic representation between the two countries from Charge d’affaires to ambassadorial level, as agreed during the trilateral meeting in Beijing on May 21, 2025.
Dar later joined his Chinese and Afghan counterparts to attend the trilateral meeting focusing on political, economic and security cooperation.
The three sides committed to strengthen joint efforts against terrorism. They also reaffirmed their commitment to deepening collaboration in trade, transit, regional development, health, education, culture, and combating drug trafficking, as well as, extension of CPEC to Afghanistan, according to the foreign office readout.
Pakistan’s special representative on Afghanistan in a post on X said Pakistan, China and Afghanistan agreed to make joint efforts against terrorist groups, including TTP, BLA and ETIM.
Afghan Foreign Minister Muttaqi, in his remarks, said that the region holds vast opportunities for cooperation across various fields. He expressed confidence that if the three countries focus on mutual trust and practical measures, these opportunities can be fully realised. According to him, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has made the economy the central pillar of its foreign policy, with efforts underway to transform Afghanistan from a country viewed only through the prism of security challenges into a hub of regional economic activity.
He further said that Afghanistan, China, and Pakistan collectively possess immense economic potential. In his view, it is essential to harness this potential in a positive and practical manner, without linking economic issues with political or other disputes. He emphasized that the people of the region aspire for peace and prosperity, which can only be achieved if economic relations are given top priority.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in his address, noted that China’s relations with Afghanistan are becoming stronger with time. He underlined that bilateral cooperation is no longer confined to trade but has expanded into education, health, infrastructure, energy, and several other sectors. Wang also expressed hope that Afghanistan will continue on the path of stability and that regional economic corridors will open up greater opportunities for joint development.
Foreign Minister Dar also highlighted the significance of the meeting. He stated that the trilateral talks between Afghanistan, China, and Pakistan are not only vital for consolidating existing relations but also serve as a milestone for paving the way toward future progress. Dar expressed optimism that economic and trade cooperation among the three countries will deepen further, opening new doors of prosperity for the people of the region.
The meeting participants agreed that the three countries need to enhance mutual connectivity in order to translate regional cooperation into tangible results. They also pledged joint efforts to remove obstacles in the fields of trade and transit so that the region can move toward sustainable development and stability.
This trilateral meeting comes at a time when Afghanistan is striving to stabilize its economy and redefine its relations with regional countries. Both China and Pakistan, being Afghanistan’s major neighbours, bring additional weight and significance to this process.
