Islamabad hosted today a “Troika Plus” conference, where the representatives of US, Russia and China discussed the current challenges in Afghanistan.  

A delegation of the Islamic Emirate, led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi left Kabul for Islamabad on Wednesday.  

Muttaqi will meet his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, later today. The foreign ministry’s spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said that Muttaqi would follow up with the special envoys of Russia, US and China in Pakistan. But he did not take part in the Troika Plus conference.  

Speaking at the meeting, Qureshi expressed concerns over the economic meltdown in Afghanistan, saying that the country’s economic crisis could cause instability in the whole region and beyond.  

“All of us have common concerns related to Afghanistan and also have a shared interest in the country’s peace and stability,” he said. 

Qureshi suggested that the Troika plus “engagement” with the incumbent Afghan government would pave the ground for peace and stability as well as “sustainable economic development."

The Pakistani foreign minister also called for the release of Afghanistan's bank assets.

“With international funding drying up, it has become difficult to pay even salaries, let alone pursue development projects,” he added. “The common man is reeling under the effects of a severe drought. Any further downward slide will severely limit the new administration’s capacity to run the government” in Afghanistan. 

According to Qureshi, the next round of the Troika Plus conference would be held in Beijing, where the delegation of the Islamic Emirate would also be invited.  

Prior to the Troika Plus conference in Islamabad, Moscow, Tehran and New Deli hosted regional conferences on Afghanistan, reflecting their concerns in the wake of the fall of the former government in Afghanistan.