NEW YORK: A ministerial meeting of the Quadrilateral Group consisting of Pakistan, Iran, China, and Russia has voiced deep concern over the security challenges emerging from Afghanistan, saying that terrorist groups operating in the country pose a serious threat to regional and global security.
Pakistan has seen a surge in militant attacks since the Taliban government returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, mostly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Balochistan provinces, which border Afghanistan and Iran.
According to a joint statement issued on Sunday the quadrilateral meeting was held in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session on September 27.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif attended the meeting on behalf of Pakistan while Iran, China and Russia were represented by their respective foreign ministers.
The ministers during the meeting, said that terrorist groups such as Al-Qaida, Daesh, the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), Jaish ul-Adl, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), TTP and other groups based in Afghanistan, pose a serious threat to regional and global security.
READ ALSO: Israel Kills Another Top Hezbollah Official in Lebanon as Airstrikes Continue
The meeting also slammed the recent terrorist attacks in Afghanistan and the region, including the attacks by Daesh on pilgrims on 13 September 2024 and the attacks by TTP in Bannu and Besham in Pakistan on 15 July and 26 March 2024.
The ministers voiced concern over the terrorism-related security situation in Afghanistan and the region and “stressed the concept of common, cooperative, comprehensive, and sustainable security.
The quadrilateral meeting emphasized the need to strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels.
“They called on Afghan Taliban to take visible and verifiable actions in fulfilling the international obligations and commitments made by Afghanistan to fight terrorism, dismantle, and eliminate all terrorist groups equally and non-discriminatory and prevent the use of Afghan territory against its neighbours, the region, and beyond,” the statement said.
