Officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan and China met in the Afghan capital Kabul on Saturday to discuss trade, development and solutions to end the region's relentless conflicts.

The bitter relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan dominated the talks, with all three countries agreeing that a peaceful end to the war would have economic and trade benefits for the entire region.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have long accused each other of failing to combat the Taliban and other armed groups that operate along their porous border.

During a news conference after the trilateral talks, Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani said that Kabul had yet to see "tangible progress" from Pakistan "in the fight against terrorism".

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He said Afghanistan wanted to see some "specific measures" from Islamabad to end the violence, without offering details

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Islamabad wanted a fresh start in its relationship with Afghanistan.

"The time has come to move on, to stop pointing fingers, join hands for a future," Qureshi said. "If you want Pakistan to act for reconciliation then stop pointing fingers at Pakistan."

"One Belt, One Road"

China, which has hosted Taliban leaders in an effort to bring the warring sides to the negotiating table, sees an end to the war as critical to its "One Belt, One Road" policy of expanding trade links across Asia.

It is the second such meeting of the three neighbouring countries.

China is investing tens of billions of dollars in Pakistan, and the two have forged close economic ties.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a key cog of that policy, under which Beijing has pledged $60bn to build power stations, major highways, new and upgraded railways and higher capacity ports to help turn Pakistan into a major overland route linking western China to the world.

Afghanistan's Rabbani said his country also wants to participate in the Chinese initiative.

Efforts to end the Afghan conflict have accelerated since the appointment in September of US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who has shuttled across the region in an effort to revive Afghan peace talks.

He has reportedly held several meetings with the Taliban at their political office in the Gulf country of Qatar.

The State Department has neither confirmed nor denied the talks.

Afghanistan and the United States also accuse Islamabad of providing support to the Taliban fighting the Afghan government and international forces in the country. Pakistan rejects this accusation.

On Friday, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan confirmed that Islamabad was facilitating talks between the US and the Taliban.

The talks are scheduled to begin on December 17, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump also asked Pakistan to help bring the Taliban to the negotiating table in Afghanistan.</s>Afghanistan is set to host a three-way meeting Saturday with neighbors China and Pakistan to discuss peace as well as economic and counterterrorism cooperation.

Foreign ministers of the three countries will lead their respective delegations at the second round of the trilateral dialogue Beijing initiated last year to help ease Kabul's political tensions with Islamabad.

Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Sibghatullah Ahmadi said, "An MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) is set to be signed." He did not elaborate.

Pakistani officials say that a trilateral cooperation framework on counterterrorism is expected to be signed at the meeting.

China, a close ally of Pakistan, has lately deepened its economic and political ties with Afghanistan. Beijing is actively using its influence to bring the two uneasy South Asian neighbors closer.

Chinese officials say regional stability and security will discourage anti-China militants from causing trouble in the western Xinjiang region, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan.

China has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure projects in Pakistan over the past five years as part of President Xi Jinping's global Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Chinese and Pakistani officials say they are considering expanding the bilateral China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, to Afghanistan, through road and rail links to promote connectivity and economic development in the war-ravaged country.

Beijing's ambassador to Islamabad, Yao Jing, told a seminar this week in Islamabad that BRI is aimed at boosting economic cooperation among regional countries.

"China's message to the region is that our resources should be used for our own developments and prosperity. We should focus on curbing poverty and disease, which are our basic enemies," said the Chinese envoy.

Pakistan says the expansion of CPEC to Afghanistan will give it better access to Central Asian markets for Pakistani exports.

Political tensions, coupled with allegations that security agencies in both countries support militant groups that bring deadly attacks against one another, continue to strain relations between Kabul and Islamabad.</s>ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is in Kabul to attend tripartite talks between Pakistan, China and Afghanistan aimed at finding a solution to sustainable peace in Afghanistan.

A Pakistani delegation led by the minister left for the Afghan capital on Sunday morning for the talks that would take place in three phases.

According to Geo News, Afghanistan's political situation and reconciliation process with Taliban, regional cooperation and security would also come under discussion during the talks.

Foreign ministers of three countries are scheduled to meet Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, with Shah Mehmood Qureshi due to hold a separate meeting his Chinese counterpart.

Before leaving for Kabul, Qureshi said the opening of tripartite negotiations was a welcome sign as both Pakistan and China desire peace and stability and betterment in Afghanistan.

It is the second round of the foreign minister level talks that follow the first one that took place in Beijing last year.</s>ISLAMABAD: The second tier of Pakistan-China-Afghanistan trilateral dialogues is being held today (Saturday) in Kabul aimed at discussing regional peace and strengthening economic and counter-terrorism cooperation.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi reached Kabul earlier for the talks. He is representing the Pakistani delegation and is accompanied by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and other senior officials of the Foreign Office.

The Chinese and Afghan foreign ministers are leading their delegations.

A tripartite cooperation framework on counter-terrorism is expected to be signed at the meeting.

As cited by sources, the talks will be held in three phases. The first phase will have discussion about the political situation in Afghanistan and the negotiation process with Taliban, whereas the second will discuss regional cooperation.

The third phase will revolve around security cooperation, sources said.

The three foreign ministers are also scheduled to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Meanwhile, FM Qureshi during his day-long visit will hold bilateral dialogue with his Chinese counterpart.

The foreign minister, while speaking to the media ahead of his departure, welcomed the Chinese initiative of holding trilateral dialogue. "Both Pakistan and China desire peace, stability, prosperity and development in Afghanistan," he stated.

"We are carrying the message of friendship and peace to Afghanistan," he added.</s>KABUL — Afghanistan, Pakistan and China are meeting in the Afghan capital to discuss trade, development and ending the region’s relentless conflicts.

Shahussain Murtazawi, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan president, says envoys meeting Saturday will discuss everything from regional economic development to counterterrorism. It is the second such meeting of the three neighbouring countries.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is attending the meeting on his second visit to Kabul since assuming office. Pakistan and Afghanistan have long accused each other of failing to combat the Taliban and other militant groups that operate along their porous border.

China has lent tens of billions of dollars to Pakistan and the two have forged close economic ties as part of Beijing’s “One Belt, One Road” policy of expanding trade links across Asia.</s>Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan says the United States is scheduled to meet on Monday (Dec 17) with the Afghan Taliban and that Islamabad has facilitated the dialogue at Washington’s request.

“The same U.S. that had been asking us to ‘do more’ is now asking Pakistan to facilitate its talks with the Afghan Taliban,” Imran Khan said as quoted by Pakistan Today.

“When I used to say this matter cannot be resolved without dialogue, [they] would term me ‘Taliban Khan’,” said the PM, revealing that Pakistan had arranged talks between the US and Afghan Taliban on Dec 17.

Khan made the remarks while addressing a ceremony to mark the 100-day ceremony of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

The Afghan government will not have any representative in the U.S.-Taliban talks in Pakistan; however, Afghanistan’s High Peace Council (HPC) told Ariana News that the Taliban are meeting the U.S. representatives to facilitate intra-Afghan dialogue.

“The Taliban meet Americans, but eventually, the Afghan government and Taliban delegations will kick off talks to reach on a peace agreement,” said Qazi Amin Weqad, a member of the HPC.

Sayed Akbar Agha, a former member of the Taliban, meanwhile, said that the United States asks Pakistan to put pressure on the Taliban to convince the armed group of allowing the U.S. to have base in Afghanistan while “Taliban is rejecting the issue.”

This comes as Kabul today hosted a trilateral meeting with China and Pakistan aimed at opening talks with the Taliban to end the 17 years of war in Afghanistan.</s>KABUL/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, China and Afghanistan signed an anti-terrorism cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Saturday during the ongoing second trilateral ministerial dialogue in Kabul.

The second round of Pakistan-Afghanistan-China trilateral dialogue is being held in Kabul to discuss peace as well as economic and counter-terrorism cooperation, reported Geo News on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi who is leading the Pakistani delegation at the dialogue signed the document along with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Yi and their Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani. The signing was witnessed by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Earlier in the day while speaking at the opening session of the trilateral talk, FM Qureshi said that Pakistan, China and Afghanistan will have to collectively foil the designs of enemies of peace in the region.

Speaking at the trilateral dialogue, the foreign minister stressed the need for bolstering regional cooperation in diverse sectors.

Reaffirming commitment to eradication of terrorism, the foreign minister said, “Better border management between Pakistan and Afghanistan and intelligence sharing will be greatly beneficial for both the countries.”

“Pakistan will continue to play facilitative role on Afghan reconciliation process,” he added. “We will do everything to support the growing momentum towards reconciliation provided others play their due role and share responsibility and create an enabling environment towards that end,” the foreign minister further said.

Qureshi continued, “Pakistan has always supported dialogue process for peaceful resolution of Afghan conflict and our stance has now also been vindicated by the international community.”

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in his remarks said that his country desires to make the Afghan reconciliation process successful. “We will play our role to reduce trust deficit between Pakistan and Afghanistan,” Yi said and added that his country also wants to further strengthen relations with Afghanistan and desires to make it part of CPEC. “We support an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process,” the Chinese foreign minister said.

This is the second meeting of the three foreign ministers after their kick-off meeting in Beijing last year.

FM Qureshi is accompanied by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and other senior officials of the Foreign Office on his one-day official visit to Kabul.

Further, during his day-long visit, the foreign minister will hold bilateral dialogue with his Chinese counterpart.

Speaking to the media ahead of his departure, the foreign minister welcomed the Chinese initiative of holding trilateral dialogue. “Both Pakistan and China desire peace, stability, prosperity and development in Afghanistan,” he said. “We are carrying the message of friendship and peace to Afghanistan,” he added. The foreign minister stressed that peace is imperative to for the region to move forward on the path of sustainable development.

The one-day Pakistan-China-Afghanistan trilateral talks held in Kabul Saturday yielded remarkable outcome since major players of upcoming polls in Afghanistan namely Dr Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah are in need of Pakistan’s support desperately for their contest.

Pakistan and China both have assured generous assistance for the wellbeing of Afghan people as both have announced to some significant projects in this regard. China has announced to lay railway line from Kandahar to Herat and other places afterwards while Pakistan will hand over two most sophisticated hospitals next year with state-of-the-art equipments being built in neighbouring areas of Jalalabad and Logar.

Highly placed diplomatic sources told The News/Jang Saturday evening that President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah had meeting with visiting foreign ministers separately. They lack cordiality in their relationship. Chinese foreign minister has assured Islamabad and Kabul that it would provide arrangements for the comfort of each other side’s visitors on Chaman and Torkham borders entry points.

The sources revealed that the trilateral meeting will have positive impact on the talks between Taliban and United States at an unknown place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today (Sunday).

According to original schedule the same had to start a day earlier. It is likely that the talks would continue for two days as Pakistan has been facilitating it on the request of the United States.

NNI adds: Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah has hailed Pakistan’s role in reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

Talking to Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Kabul Saturday, he thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi for the cooperation being extended by Pakistan to attain peace in his country.

The Afghan chief executive expressed hope that the bilateral relations will touch new heights during the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

On the occasion, the foreign minister said Pakistan will continue playing its positive and constructive role in reconciliatory process in Afghanistan.

He said peace in Afghanistan is important not only for Pakistan and Afghanistan but it will have impact on the entire region. He said both the countries have been dealing with the menace of terrorism for over forty years.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi expressed confidence that the Pakistan-China-Afghanistan trilateral dialogue forum will prove useful for peace and stability in the region and social development.
Pakistani, Afghan and Chinese officials hold talks in Kabul aimed at ending the region's conflicts.