Iran, China, Russia, Pakistan FMs discussed Afghanistan’s woes in Samarkand

Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian of Iran says he held four-way talks with his counterparts from China, Russia and Pakistan over Afghanistan’s problems on the margins of a regional summit of the crisis-hit country’s neighbors in Uzbekistan.

Addressing reporters after the quadrilateral meeting, the top Iranian diplomat said he and his opposite numbers discussed the existing concerns and various issues grappling Afghanistan.

Among the topics discussed were spread of terrorism in Afghanistan, crises caused by the US sanctions in place against the country, tough living conditions of Afghan people, and the influx of Afghan refugees to Iran and other neighbors, he said.

Amirabdollahian also stressed the need for a fight against drug trafficking originating from Afghanistan and the responsibility of the ruling government of Taliban in that regard.

He also criticized the acting Taliban government for ridding the Afghan women and girls of the right to education and employment.

Amirabdollahian is in Samarkand to participate in the fourth meeting of the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries, namely Iran, China, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Russia.

The meeting will focus on the problems of Afghanistan after the Taliban took power in August 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of the US military, which wreaked havoc on the nation for more than two decades.

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