Dushanbe: China, Russia, Iran and four central Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan - joined India in strongly condemning terrorism in a joint statement after the 4th NSA-level regional security dialogue in Dushanbe while also calling for dismantling of terror camps in Afghanistan and the region.
Significantly, while not naming the US or any other western country, the joint statement India signed on mentioned the “view” that countries responsible for the current situation in Afghanistan should fulfil their “obligations” for economic reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Participating in the conference, NSA Ajit Doval had called for enhanced efforts to check the activities of terror groups and also underlined the significance of respecting the basic rights of women and children at a time the Taliban are said to have imposed restrictions on their activities.
In a bilateral with his Iranian counterpart Ali Shamkhani, Doval also warned against possible use of leftover or abandoned US weapons by terror groups in Afghanistan.
“The heads of delegations called on the relevant Afghan parties to take more realistic steps to eradicate the types of terrorist groups, stop the movement of all terrorist organisations, dismantle their training camps both in Afghanistan and in the region, and ensure that Afghanistan doesn’t serve as a breeding ground, safe haven or source for the spread of terrorism,” said the joint statement issued after the Dushanbe talks.
While China’s terrorism concerns vary from India’s in that Beijing is mostly focused on the activities of Xinjiang-based East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the mention of the need to dismantle terror camps in the region is still significant for India in the context of anti-India activities by Pakistan-based groups like LeT and JeM. The government also managed to get a mention in the joint statement of the Delhi Consensus arrived at in the 3rd regional security dialogue on Afghanistan hosted by Doval last year.
