In a setback to Pakistan, the United States and Russia made it clear during the “Troika Plus” meeting on Afghanistan in Islamabad on Thursday, that they were not in a hurry to extend recognition to the Taliban regime in Kabul. To the utter disappointment of Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the envoys of both these nations categorically said that the Taliban’s future conduct would be taken into consideration carefully and comprehensively before any decision was taken about giving recognition to their government. Sources in touch with top American and Russian diplomats told The Daily Guardian that the envoys (special representatives on Afghan affairs) of both these countries also gave a stern message to Qureshi on the issue of terrorism, saying that a lot needed to be done to ensure that Afghanistan did not turn into a terror hub. “The Taliban regime is yet to give credible proof that the group has no links with international terrorist outfits,” the US diplomat is learnt to have told Qureshi.
The extended Troika meeting was hosted by Pakistan on Thursday, a day after India organised its NSA level Regional Security Dialogue on the same issue of Afghanistan. Both Pakistan and China skipped the meeting hosted by India, which has criticised Pakistan for staying away from the meeting on such an important issue, saying this proved how little concern Islamabad had about the people of Afghanistan.
During the meeting in Islamabad, Qureshi stressed on the need for the global community to recognise the Taliban government in Afghanistan. According to sources, Qureshi said that “the Taliban were interested in having communication with the world so that their government is recognised”. Pakistan’s foreign minister went to the extent of warning the world “not to repeat the mistakes of the past when isolation of Afghanistan created multiple problems”. Sources told this newspaper that the US and Russian representatives told him that a decision on the recognition of the Taliban government would be taken only after a detailed assessment of how the situation unfolded in Afghanistan. Sources privy to the developments in Islamabad said that the US envoy was of the view that the new regime in Kabul had to walk the talk on terrorism and humanitarian issues, among others. “There are reports based on evidence that international terror groups are still active on Afghan soil and Pakistan is well aware of it,” a diplomat said. MEA sources said that during the Regional Security Dialogue in New Delhi, the Indian side had shared sufficient inputs with all the participants including Russia about how terror camps were still planning to use Afghan soil to carry out sinister activities. This is the reason why the Delhi Declaration in no uncertain terms told the Taliban not to allow Afghan soil to be used by terror organisations. It also warned Pakistan and China, though without naming them, not to interfere in the internal matters of Afghanistan. So just similar to what the Delhi Declaration had done, the US and Russia made it a point to include in the joint statement a strong message on terrorism, sources said. Therefore, the Troika Plus participants called on the Taliban “to sever its ties with all international terrorist groups and to deny space to any militant organisations operating inside the country while taking steps to form an ‘inclusive and representative’ government in Kabul.” The special representatives of US and Russia, for Afghanistan affairs also expressed deep concern regarding the severe humanitarian and economic situation in Afghanistan and reiterated their unwavering support to the people of Afghanistan. “The deteriorating condition in Afghanistan bears testimony to the fact that the Taliban are not able to fulfil their promises,” said a senior diplomat.