Pakistan, China to skip meeting on Afghanistan hosted by India

New Delhi : In a latest development, Pakistan and China will be skipping a meeting on Afghanistan when the national security chiefs of seven key regional countries gather for security dialogue.

The day-long event will be hosted by India and discuss terrorism, related security challenges and uncertainties emerging from Afghanistan after Taliban took over the nation.

Pakistan refused to attend the meeting because it is being hosted by India. China, on the other hand, said they cannot attend it because of scheduling issues. Beijing said that they will indulge in dialogue with India on Afghanistan biletrally.

The meeting will focus on terrorism, within Afghanistan and across borders: the growth of radicalisation and extremism that might spread from Afghanistan, either by the Taliban and Haqqani network, or IS-K, or just by the power of demonstration to influence populations in all the participating countries.

Cross border movement from Afghanistan and use of military weapons left by American troops on Afghanistan soil has become a major concern.

There is apprehension that these could be used to fuel terrorism or feed organised crime networks in the region.

According to a news report, the dialogue is not new; first was held in Iran in 2018 also between five nations - India, Russia, Afghanistan, China and Iran. Pakistan was invited but then also they had refused. The second meeting was again hosted in Iran in 2019.