ISLAMABAD(National Times)- The eighth edition of the Moscow Format regional consultations on Afghanistan on Monday ended without a joint communique, mainly because of disagreements between Pakistani and Afghan delegations in what was possibly the first instance in the series where participants failed to agree on a joint statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said Moscow regretted that the participants could not agree on the final document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen drafting the final joint statement, we encountered one problem, that problem was that our Afghan and Pakistani colleagues didn\u2019t see eye to eye,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Moscow meeting brought together special envoys and senior officials from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with Belarus and Egypt attending as guests. The format dates back to 2016 -17 and has emerged as one of the main regional diplomatic tracks on Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The failure to agree on a joint statement underscored how the worsening Pakistan-Afghanistan dispute is now complicating wider regional efforts to build consensus on Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tense relations between Islamabad and Kabul were among the key issues discussed at the meeting, with the dispute over terrorism and counterterrorism language ultimately preventing the adoption of the joint document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Kabulov said the Afghan side objected to references that placed Afghanistan in a terrorist context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Attacks from Afghan soil<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistan\u2019s special envoy for Afghanistan, Moha\u00admmad Sadiq, told the meeting that Islamabad wanted peace and stability in the region and had pursued political and diplomatic engagement with the Taliban leadership to address terrorism emanating from Afghan soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPakistan desires peace and stability in the region and has remained patiently engaged in political and diplomatic efforts aimed at addressing the menace of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil. However, it is unfortunate that Pakistan\u2019s numerous goodwill gestures and highly responsible appr\u00adoach were misconstrued, resulting in increased terrorist attacks from Afghan soil, with the active support and backing of the Taliban Regime,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taliban want more talks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, meanwhile, criticised Pakistan\u2019s statements and actions towards Afghanistan and Afghans, accusing Islamabad of using military pressure, refugees, students and transit routes as instruments of leverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, he insisted that the problems affecting relations bet\u00adween the two neighbours could be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Russia offered to help de-escalate the dispute, although Kabulov stressed that resolving bilateral disputes was not the purpose of the Moscow Format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRussia is ready to assist in ending this conflict in any possible, permissible way either on its own or in partnership with our other partners provided that both sides make such a request. We are ready to provide the maximum possible assistance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who opened the meeting, endorsed the performance of the Taliban authorities while warning against any attempt by Nato to establish military infrastructure in Afghanistan or neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He backed assistance to Kabul and said strengthening Afghanistan\u2019s counterterrorism capacity served regional interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ICC warrants<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, the Inter\u00adnational Criminal Court on Monday unsealed arrest warrants for two Afghan ministers accused of committing crimes against humanity through the Taliban government\u2019s restrictions on women and girls, AFP<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The warrants, for Habibullah Agha, minister of education, and Neda Mohammad Nadeem, minister of higher education, were issued in September 2025 but remained under seal until Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two officials are accused of gender-based persecution linked to policies that have barred girls from attending school beyond primary level and excluded women from higher education following the Taliban\u2019s return to power in August 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two warrants against the ministers were issued after the ICC, in July 2025, authorised warrants for Afghanistan\u2019s Supreme Taliban Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Supreme Court President Abdul Hakim Haqqani, parts of which have been made public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Agha and Nadeem were instrumental in imposing the supreme leader\u2019s vision of Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a sharp reaction to the ICC warrants, a Taliban spokesman condemned the ICC position on the arrest of Afghan leaders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ISLAMABAD(National Times)- The eighth edition of the Moscow Format regional consultations on Afghanistan on Monday ended without a joint communique, mainly because of disagreements between Pakistani and Afghan delegations in what was possibly the first instance in the series where participants failed to agree on a joint statement. Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n