Revival of China-Pak-Afghan ties

On May 21, Foreign Ministers Wang Yi of China, Ishaq Dar of Pakistan, and Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaki of Afghanistan met in Beijing.

- SMRUTI S PATTANAIK

This was a breakthrough for Pakistan, whose relationship with the Taliban had deteriorated over several issues, including the presence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Afghanistan, cross-border raids, and the expulsion of undocumented Afghan refugees from Pakistan in retaliation for the Taliban's inaction against TTP.

Parallel to the deterioration of Pakistan's relations with the Taliban was the latter's outreach to India, which has a keen interest in cultivating the Afghanistan interim regime. India's Foreign Secretary visited Afghanistan in January this year, marking a new beginning. While Pakistan said that Indian missiles targeted Afghanistan during Operation Sindoor, India rejected it as a "ludicrous claim". Afghanistan condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attack, and India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on May 16 had a telephonic conversation with Amir Khan Muttaqi, Afghanistan's acting Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Therefore, it is unsurprising that its well-weathered friend China took the initiative to hold an informal trilateral foreign ministers' meeting. The talks about the meeting were initiated in 2017 and became dormant for some time to help Pakistan and Afghanistan reach an understanding regarding the widening differences in their bilateral relations. After the meeting, Pakistan announced that it would send an ambassador to Afghanistan, the first such diplomatic upgrading after the Taliban took over power. In response, Afghanistan announced that it is elevating the status of its mission in Islamabad from chargé d'affaires to ambassador.