Envoys From Region Hold Talks on Afghanistan in Dushanbe

Special envoys from China, Iran, Russia and Pakistan in a meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Tajikistan discussed the situation of Afghanistan, The Caspian Post informs via AMU TV.

The SCO meeting was hosted by Tajikistan on Sept. 11-12. The SCO, a bloc led by China and Russia and including Central Asian states, India and Pakistan, has increasingly focused on Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. The group earlier this year announced the creation of a contact group on Afghanistan, citing concerns about terrorism, narcotics trafficking and cross-border crime.

Yue Xiaoyong, China’s special envoy for Afghanistan, confirmed the meeting in a post on X, writing that he was “pleased to participate in the quadrilateral meeting of the special envoys of China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan” and that all parties “emphasized the necessity of engagement with Afghanistan and helping its reconstruction.” He did not provide further details.

Analysts say the push for engagement reflects a mix of pragmatic and security-driven motives. “The SCO’s approach to Afghanistan is centered on counterterrorism, regional stability and stopping the export of militancy, narcotics and arms trafficking,” said Ghulam Farooq Aleem, a former Afghan prosecutor. “That is why they see some form of engagement with the Taliban as unavoidable.”

China and Russia have both hosted Taliban delegations in recent years and maintain limited diplomatic representation in Kabul, but neither has granted formal recognition. Iran, which shares a long border with Afghanistan, has pursued what experts describe as a “pragmatic but wary” relationship, balancing dialogue with recurring disputes over water rights and border clashes. Pakistan has elevated ties by posting an ambassador in Kabul, but tensions persist, with Islamabad accusing the Taliban of harboring the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP - an allegation Taliban officials reject.

For the Taliban, who have ruled Afghanistan for four years under increasingly harsh restrictions on women and public life, the outreach offers an alternative to Western recognition. Since 2021, the United States and its allies have imposed sanctions and withheld formal diplomatic ties, citing human rights violations and the Taliban’s curbs on girls’ education and women’s work.