Atmar underlines joint efforts to combat terrorism

KABUL (Pajhwok): Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar has reiterated Afghanistan’s commitment to a political settlement of the ongoing conflict in the country.

He was addressing the fourth meeting of the Afghanistan-Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Contact Group in Dushanbe. The eight members of SCO and Afghanistan were in attendance.

The minister promised resuming meaningful negotiations to fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the Afghan people and government to preserve the gains of the last two decades.

About the threat posed by terrorist groups alongside the Taliban in the region, he stressed the need to jointly deal with the challenge.

He went on to say that ensuring lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan was a viable solution to the problem of terrorism, extremism and restoration of stability in the region.

Atmar said Afghanistan wanted all countries to maintain their consensus on ending the bloodshed, find a political solution and ensure peace in the war-torn country.

He called on the Taliban to implement the Doha Agreement, the UN Security Council Resolution 2513 and the Declaration of the Moscow Extended Troika,

Atmar underline joint efforts to overcome the common threat of terrorism and the need for SCO member states to provide immediate security assistance to Afghanistan.

The participants stressed the need to resolve Afghanistan’s crisis through political means, take practical steps to cooperate with Kabul, prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for terrorists and force economic and humanitarian cooperation with it.

The issues discussed at the meeting focused on Afghanistan’s membership in SCO, the roadmap for the organisation’s cooperation with Afghanistan in three areas: (1) security, (2) economic, (3) cultural-humanitarian, and the situation in Afghanistan and its effects on regional stability and development.

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