The conference — attended by the CARs, Russia and Pakistan — was unanimous that terrorism emanating from Afghan soil remains a significant threat to the region. A major drawback of Kabul’s non-participation was that a joint communique could not be drafted, abandoning the regional initiative half-heartedly. Iran led from the front by exhibiting its willingness to maintain dialogue, exchange views and coordinate on security and development issues. Pakistan’s one-point submission, which was seconded by all member states, was that Taliban’s accountability is likely to remain central in future regional discussions.
Tehran, a while ago, had also hosted talks among anti-Taliban Afghan political groups, culminating in the “National Solidarity of Afghanistan’s Political Parties and Movements” declaration. Perhaps, this was one of the reasons for Taliban 2.0 staying away. If so, that confirms the myopic vision of the dispensation in Kabul as the Afghan factions were on the mark in pushing for a resolution of the Afghan crisis through dialogue. Afghan Taliban’s unwillingness to engage at multilateral forums is all too evident. They torpedoed similar talks with Pakistan in Doha and Istanbul, pushing the equation to a dead-end.