ISLAMABAD: Director General (DG) Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, Saturday, hosted a meeting of his counterparts from China, Russia, Iran, and Tajikistan, in Islamabad to discuss ongoing developments in Afghanistan as well as a possible coordinated response to deal with its spillover effect on the regional countries.
According to sources, DG ISI Faiz Hameed headed a meeting of the spy chiefs from China, Iran, Russia, and Tajikistan, where they discussed the ongoing security situation.
Intelligence chiefs of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were also present in the meeting. The forum agreed on intelligence sharing to ensure peace and stability. The DG ISI has visited Afghanistan recently where he met members of the Taliban, Hezb-e-Islami Chief Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and others to discuss the situation in the aftermath of a Taliban takeover.
According to sources, DG ISI Faiz Hameed led a delegation of senior Pakistan officials and had reached Kabul on September 4 to hold talks with the new administration in the Afghan capital.
During a meeting with the Taliban delegation, the two sides discussed travel procedures along the Pak-Afghan border and requests regarding the evacuation of foreigners from Afghanistan by various countries.
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The sources further shared that security issues also came up during the meeting and a joint mechanism would be devised to stop elements that could take advantage of the ongoing situation and disturb the peace on both sides of the border.
Earlier on September 8, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi chaired a meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, on the Afghan issue via video link.
Following the talks, a joint statement was issued, in which it was noted that with the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, the people of Afghanistan now have to determine their own future, which should allow in practice to realise "Afghan-led, Afghan-owned" process for national peace and reconciliation.
They also had stressed on the importance of working together to address common challenges, strengthening cooperation and friendly relations in the neighbourhood, and promoting peace, security, stability, regional connectivity, people-to-people linkages, economic integration, trade and investment for the benefit of the whole region.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021