ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Friday reacted cautiously to the Russian decision recognising the Afghan Taliban government, saying the matter was between the two sovereign states.
“We have seen the news about Russian recognition of the government in Kabul,” said Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan at a weekly news briefing.
“Russia is an important country in the region. It has legitimate security interests in this part of the world and is also friends with all countries in the region. Pakistan enjoys very warm and cordial relations with Russia,” he added.
“Both countries are maintaining the positive trajectory and further expanding the cordial relations. Russia-Afghanistan relations are a matter between two sovereign states. We have taken note of Russian recognition,” he said without offering any further comments.
Unlike Pakistan’s guarded reaction, China welcomed the Russian decision to formally recognize the Taliban government. China was the first country to send a full time Ambassador to Kabul in March last year and accepted the Taliban appointed envoy in Beijing. However, unlike Russia, China never formally announced that it had recognized the Taliban government.
Diplomatic sources said other countries may also follow suit as regional countries earlier decided to take decision on Afghanistan with consensus.
The United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan are in the process to appoint full time Ambassadors to Kabul.
There was, however, no clarity if Pakistan would immediately or formally recognise the Taliban government. Pakistan has had a difficult relationship with the Taliban government over its failure to curb cross border terrorist attacks.
Pakistan wanted to use the recognition as leverage with the Taliban government. However, China recently tried to mediate between Pakistan and China. Recently, China hosted a trilateral meeting in Beijing after which Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to upgrade their diplomatic ties.
The spokesperson said the process of appointment of ambassadors was underway. It is believed that in return for Pakistan upgrading the ties, the Taliban government had agreed to address Pakistan’s security concerns.
Officials familiar with the development said the Taliban government in recent weeks took some steps to address Pakistan’s security concerns. However, they were of the view that a lot needed to be done as far as terrorist sanctuaries were concerned.
Pakistan this week neutralised a major infiltration bid by terrorists from Afghanistan. As many as 30 intruders were killed in two operations in Hassen Kheil District of North Waziristan. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement urged the Afghan Taliban government to fulfill its promise of not allowing its soil to be used by terrorist groups.
