Overview
- At a UNGA‑sideline meeting on September 25, foreign ministers from Pakistan, China, Iran and Russia issued a joint statement demanding “effective, concrete and verifiable” Taliban action against listed militant groups.
- The statement called for dismantling training camps, cutting financing and recruitment, and preventing access to weapons, with explicit references to Al‑Qaeda, TTP, BLA, ISIL and ETIM.
- The four governments opposed any re‑establishment of foreign military bases in or around Afghanistan and stressed respect for Afghan sovereignty, a position highlighted after President Donald Trump said he was seeking to regain Bagram Air Base.
- Kabul’s response welcomed the anti‑bases language, with spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat saying Afghanistan will not allow its territory to be used against other countries or permit armed groups to operate from its soil.
- The bloc paired security demands with appeals to scale up non‑politicised humanitarian aid, expand economic cooperation, adjust the UN’s 1988 sanctions regime, and create conditions for safe, dignified and voluntary refugee returns while urging inclusive governance and protections for women and girls.