Neighbouring states urge Taliban for inclusive govt in Kabul

SAMARKAND    -    Iran, Pakistan, Russia and China have called upon Taliban authori­ties in Kabul to form an inclusive government with the participation of all ethnic groups and political institutions.

Foreign Ministers of the four states, sharing borders with Afghani­stan, are in Samarkand to attend the 4th Meet­ing of the Neighbouring Countries of Afghanistan started here yesterday. 

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, is head­ing the Pakistani dele­gation to the event.

The foreign ministers a joint statement called on Taliban authorities to form an inclusive government with the participation of all eth­nic groups and political institutions.

The statement also asked the de facto au­thorities to lift all re­strictions against women and ethnic mi­norities in the country.

Four rescue workers die due to collapse of factory building

The statement also em­phasized that a peace­ful Afghanistan is in the international commu­nity’s interest and that the country should be a place for international cooperation rather than geopolitical rivalry.

The four foreign min­isters also stressed the importance of respect­ing Afghanistan’s sov­ereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

They also expressed their support for the principle of “Afghan own­ership and Afghan lead­ership” to determine the political and develop­ment path of the country The four countries also expressed concern about the security situa­tion and the growing terrorism in Afghanistan. They reiterated that terrorist groups based in Afghan­istan severely threaten region­al and global peace. The Neigh­bouring Countries of Afghanistan mechanism was established in 2021 on Pakistan’s initiative with a view to evolving a region­al approach on the situation in Afghanistan. Pakistan hosted the first meeting of the Foreign Min­isters of Neighbouring Countries on September 8, 2021, and partic­ipated in the second meeting held in Iran in November 2021, and the third meeting held in Tunxi, China in March 2022.

Committee formed to probe 'undercounting' in big cities during census 2023