India in Moscow format meet on Afghanistan: In veiled dig at Pak, says ‘Military facilities of others in country unacceptable’
"It was stressed that the placement of military infrastructure facilities of third countries in Afghanistan and in adjacent states is unacceptable," said the joint statement, which has also been signed off by Pakistan.
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New Delhi, Nov 18: In a significant development, India became a part of the joint statement signed off by the countries who participated in the Moscow Format on Afghanistan in which it stated the military infrastructure facilities built by other nations in that country is "unacceptable".
This came after India participated in the fourth meeting of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan which was held in Moscow on November 16, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday. Apart from India, special representatives and senior officials from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan participated in the meeting.
"It was stressed that the placement of military infrastructure facilities of third countries in Afghanistan and in adjacent states is unacceptable," said the joint statement, which has also been signed off by Pakistan.
The countries were also "convinced that the forces (US) responsible for the 20-year military presence in Afghanistan should take on main financial burden for the post-conflict reconstruction of the Afghan economy for the welfare and well-being of common Afghans without intervention in internal affairs of Afghanistan."
The joint statement also took a note of the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue that took place in November last year, and was attended by the national security advisors of several of Afghanistan’s neighbours, except Pakistan and China. "The relevance of coordinating regional efforts to promote intra-Afghan national reconciliation, strengthen security and stability in the region under the auspices of the Moscow format of consultations and other important forums such the Neigbouring Countries of Afghanistan, Delhi Regional Security Dialogue," it said.
The countries also discussed the current situation in Afghanistan with an emphasis on regional security, military-political stability, socio-economic and humanitarian issues. "Reiterated their commitment to a peaceful, unified, sovereign, independent and economically developing Afghanistan, free from the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking," it said.
