Pakistan and Russia agreed on Monday to keep working together to find a diplomatic solution to the Afghan crisis.
In a phone conversation, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Russian colleague Sergey Lavrov agreed to cooperate closely for an early negotiated political settlement of the Afghan issue, according to the Foreign Office.
Mr. Lavrov had visited Islamabad in April for talks on measures to end the Afghan conflict and promote bilateral cooperation.
With US forces leaving the war-torn country at a considerably faster pace than planned, hopes for a political settlement of the Afghan conflict are dwindling. More than half of the pullout process, which began on May 1, has been completed, according to the US Central Command.
President Biden had originally stated that the pullout would be finished by September 11th, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that prompted the US assault on Afghanistan. However, based on the speed with which the retrograde mission is progressing, it appears that the process could be done considerably sooner.
Since the commencement of the US withdrawal, violence in Afghanistan has increased, and peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha have stalled.
Regional countries fear that if US troops leave without a political resolution, Afghanistan could collapse into an even bloodier round of civil conflict. The turmoil may have repercussions in other countries as well.
Pakistan and Russia believe that peace efforts must be stepped up and that peace and stability in Afghanistan must be restored.
Both sides committed to assist the warring Afghan groups in reaching a politically negotiated accord during Lavrov’s visit. Russia had planned to hold a meeting of the Moscow Format, encompassing Afghanistan’s neighbours and other major countries in the region, to help resolve the stalled intra-Afghan negotiations, but nothing has materialised so far.
On March 18, Moscow convened a Troika Plus mechanism meeting.
“The two foreign ministers stressed the importance of follow-up action on the decisions made during the recent visits to transform these into tangible outcomes,” the FO said about their telephone conversation.
Mr Qureshi also reiterated Pakistan’s request for assistance in procuring five million doses of Sputnik V vaccines.
