{"id":1988,"date":"2026-10-16T17:37:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T17:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/?p=1988"},"modified":"2026-10-16T18:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T18:39:11","slug":"afghan-territory-must-not-be-used-against-pakistan-islamabad-presents-firm-position-at-moscow-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/2026\/10\/16\/afghan-territory-must-not-be-used-against-pakistan-islamabad-presents-firm-position-at-moscow-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghan Territory Must Not Be Used Against Pakistan: Islamabad Presents Firm Position at Moscow Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOSCOW (Shahid Ghumman): Pakistan has made it clear at a Moscow conference on security in Central Asia and Afghanistan that it seeks a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. However, effective and verifiable action against terrorist organizations operating from Afghan territory is essential for regional peace.<\/p>\n

Pakistan was represented by former Ambassador to Afghanistan Syed Abrar Hussain at the conference organized in Moscow by the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.<\/p>\n

The conference was addressed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, CSTO Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov, CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev, SCO Deputy Secretary General Ahmad Saidmurodzoda, Russian Special Presidential Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov, ambassadors from different countries, security experts and representatives of regional organizations.<\/p>\n

Addressing the conference, Syed Abrar Hussain said Pakistan and Afghanistan are connected by geography, history, religion, culture and strong people-to-people ties. Developments in Afghanistan have a direct impact on the security of Pakistan and the wider region, making peace and stability in Afghanistan one of Pakistan’s fundamental priorities.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He said Pakistan had hosted millions of Afghan refugees for several decades and continued to assist the Afghan people during the most difficult periods. Pakistan had also consistently contributed to efforts aimed at establishing peace, promoting political dialogue and strengthening regional connectivity.<\/p>\n

According to the former Pakistani ambassador, Pakistan has also suffered heavily because of the prolonged war and instability in Afghanistan. Pakistani civilians and security personnel have sacrificed their lives in the fight against terrorism, while the country’s economy has also sustained significant losses.<\/p>\n

He said that following the change of government in Afghanistan in August 2021, Pakistan expected that Afghan territory would not be allowed to be used against any other country, particularly Pakistan. However, the activities of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other terrorist elements remain a matter of serious concern for Islamabad.<\/p>\n

Syed Abrar Hussain said Pakistan had repeatedly raised the issue of terrorism with Afghanistan’s interim authorities at different levels. Kabul must take concrete action against terrorist organizations with results that are clear, effective and verifiable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He stressed that terrorism could not be justified on political, religious or ideological grounds. Any distinction between so-called good and bad terrorists would be damaging to the collective security of the entire region.<\/p>\n

The Pakistani representative also called for a coordinated regional strategy against terrorist organizations, narcotics trafficking, illegal weapons and organized cross-border crime.<\/p>\n

He made it clear that Pakistan did not support the isolation of Afghanistan and favored meaningful and constructive engagement with the Afghan authorities. However, Afghanistan’s interim government must also fulfil its corresponding responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Syed Abrar Hussain said peace in Afghanistan would create significant opportunities for trade, transit, energy and communications links between Central and South Asia. Afghanistan could emerge as an important regional trade hub, but security remained a fundamental requirement for implementing major economic and connectivity projects.<\/p>\n

Speaking exclusively to Voice of Russia after the conference, Syed Abrar Hussain said Pakistan had taken major initiatives for Afghanistan and its people and had made extensive efforts to promote peace.<\/p>\n

He said the Afghan ambassador had attempted during his address to place the entire responsibility for existing problems on Pakistan, which was contrary to the facts. The Pakistani delegation gave a strong and reasoned response to those allegations and clearly presented Islamabad’s position before the participants.<\/p>\n

Addressing the opening session, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said cooperation among the CSTO, CIS and SCO could play an important role in countering threats associated with Central Asia and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He described the conference as an important opportunity for practical discussion of regional security, terrorism, narcotics trafficking and the situation in Afghanistan. According to the Russian foreign minister, the three organizations share similar objectives and security priorities, making stronger practical coordination among them necessary.<\/p>\n

Lavrov said Afghanistan should be integrated into regional cooperation, economic projects and transportation systems instead of being isolated. Economic development in Afghanistan could help reduce the conditions that allow terrorism and extremist ideologies to spread.<\/p>\n

Supporting the development of Afghanistan’s economy, regional trade and infrastructure projects, he said providing the Afghan people with a stable and secure future was in the interests of the entire region.<\/p>\n

The Russian foreign minister described the activities of the Islamic State and its affiliated groups as a threat to regional security. He called for greater intelligence sharing, enhanced border security and stronger cooperation among the security agencies of regional countries.<\/p>\n

Lavrov also identified narcotics trafficking and the production of synthetic drugs as major security challenges. He warned that proceeds from the illegal drug trade could be used to finance terrorist and criminal organizations, making a coordinated response necessary.<\/p>\n

He opposed the establishment of Western military infrastructure in Afghanistan or its neighboring countries, saying that foreign military presence had historically caused conflict and instability rather than promoting regional security.<\/p>\n

Russian Special Presidential Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said Moscow was developing constructive and mutually beneficial relations with the Afghan authorities.<\/p>\n

He said there was potential to expand cooperation between Russia and Afghanistan in political contacts, trade, counterterrorism and the fight against narcotics. Relevant agreements between the two countries could provide a legal basis for strengthening such cooperation.<\/p>\n

Kabulov said most regional countries were pursuing a policy of practical engagement with Kabul instead of isolating Afghanistan. Integrating Afghanistan into regional and international economic processes could help strengthen its economy and improve the security situation.<\/p>\n

According to the Russian envoy, cooperation among regional countries was the most effective way to address Afghanistan’s problems. Moscow wanted to expand trade and economic ties alongside cooperation with the Afghan authorities against terrorism and narcotics.<\/p>\n

Iranian Ambassador Kazem Jalali told the conference that powers from outside the region did not properly understand the historical, social and political conditions of regional countries, and their interference often led to greater instability and security threats.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He said sustainable peace in West and Central Asia required sincere negotiations, regional cooperation and avoidance of external interference.<\/p>\n

Kazakhstan’s Ambassador Dauren Abayev identified artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, climate change and natural disasters as emerging regional challenges. He said such threats were not confined by national borders and required collective strategies and greater exchange of information.<\/p>\n

Representatives of the CSTO, CIS and SCO called for enhanced cooperation against terrorism, extremism, narcotics trafficking, cross-border crime and cyber threats.<\/p>\n

Participants said security in Central Asia could not be separated from developments in Afghanistan. Peace and economic stability in Afghanistan would benefit the entire Eurasian region, while terrorism and narcotics trafficking remained persistent threats to collective security.<\/p>\n

Afghan Ambassador Hassan Gull Hassan presented Kabul’s position, rejecting allegations about the presence of terrorist organizations in Afghanistan and attempting to place responsibility for some of the problems on Pakistan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Pakistani representative rejected those allegations as contrary to the facts, saying Pakistan had taken practical steps to promote peace in Afghanistan, assisted the Afghan people over many years and made unprecedented sacrifices in the fight against terrorism.<\/p>\n

The conference broadly emphasized that sustainable peace in Afghanistan, the elimination of terrorism, secure borders and economic development were in the shared interests of Central and South Asia. Participants agreed on the need to strengthen coordination and practical cooperation among regional organizations.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOSCOW (Shahid Ghumman): Pakistan has made it clear at a Moscow conference on security in Central Asia and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-pakistan-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16456f206ec757393f04ef99b562445cd4f105f7ef42b262bd7d191ccee114d2.jpg",1600,903,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16456f206ec757393f04ef99b562445cd4f105f7ef42b262bd7d191ccee114d2.jpg",150,85,false],"medium":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16456f206ec757393f04ef99b562445cd4f105f7ef42b262bd7d191ccee114d2.jpg",300,169,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16456f206ec757393f04ef99b562445cd4f105f7ef42b262bd7d191ccee114d2.jpg",640,361,false],"large":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16456f206ec757393f04ef99b562445cd4f105f7ef42b262bd7d191ccee114d2.jpg",640,361,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16456f206ec757393f04ef99b562445cd4f105f7ef42b262bd7d191ccee114d2.jpg",1536,867,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16456f206ec757393f04ef99b562445cd4f105f7ef42b262bd7d191ccee114d2.jpg",1600,903,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16456f206ec757393f04ef99b562445cd4f105f7ef42b262bd7d191ccee114d2.jpg",825,466,false],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16456f206ec757393f04ef99b562445cd4f105f7ef42b262bd7d191ccee114d2.jpg",590,333,false]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Breaking<\/a> Pakistan<\/a>","tag_info":"Pakistan","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1988"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2004,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988\/revisions\/2004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}