The Fourth Ministerial Conference of Afghanistan’s Neighboring Countries held in Samarkand has pointed out that the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan continues to pose threats to regional peace.
According to the declaration of the neighboring countries’ meeting, the parties pointed out that all terrorist groups, namely the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Al-Qaeda, the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Jundallah, Jaish al-Adl, Jamaat Ansarullah, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), and others based in Afghanistan continue to pose a serious threat to regional and global security.
Attended by the foreign ministers and senior officials of China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the neighboring countries’ meeting reaffirmed its commitment to enhance cooperation on counter-terrorism and security among neighboring countries and to develop a united front against terrorism.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, who also addressed the meeting, said we also believe that more needs to be done to eradicate the foothold of terrorist organizations from Afghanistan without distinction and in a concerted and uniform manner.
She said greater cooperation and coordination with the interim Afghan Government remains critical.
