Pakistan said it will take up confidence building measures and keep engaged with Kabul
China today said it will play a "constructive role" to bring Pakistan and Afghanistan on the same page as part of fresh efforts to resolve the 16-year conflict with the Taliban by hosting a trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of the three countries.
The move by Beijing and Islamabad is seen as an apparent attempt to counter US President Donald Trump's tough policy against the Taliban and Pakistan which was announced last month as part of America's new Afghanistan and South Asia policy.
Unveiling the new China-driven Afghanistan policy, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Pakistani counterpart Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that Beijing will play a "constructive role" to bring Islamabad and Kabul together.
"The participation of China in bringing together and finding a political solution to Afghan problem is very vital. To support the initiative, Pakistan has already undertaken many steps, and will pursue those steps of improving relationship with Kabul," Mr Asif said while addressing a joint press conference with Mr Wang.
He said that before his visit to Beijing, he had held talks with his Afghanistan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani and they have agreed to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly which will be the first such meeting after US President Trump's Afghanistan and South Asia policy speech wherein he announced deploying more troops in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban, specially the Haqqani network based in Pakistan.
To keep Pakistan and Afghanistan engagement substantive and robust, Mr Asif said Pakistan will take up confidence building measures and keep engaged with Kabul at all levels including political, military and intelligence.
"With China's intervention and its role in bringing together Islamabad and Kabul, we will go a long way and will definitely pursue a policy of engagement with Kabul in bringing peace to our region," Asif said.