Afghanistan’s problems can be addressed only through pragmatic and sustained international engagement, the head of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Taalatbek Masadykov, said Friday, calling for greater coordination among regional organizations in dealing with the country.
Masadykov made the remarks Friday at a joint conference of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Commonwealth of Independent States and Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Moscow focused on security in Central Asia and Afghanistan.
He said Afghanistan continues to face poverty, drug trafficking, terrorist activity and the risk of armed conflict, despite what he described as progress under Taliban rule.
“Breaking the vicious cycle of poverty, stopping drug trafficking, terrorist activity, outbreaks of armed confrontation and other threats under current conditions is possible only through pragmatic, coordinated and phased international cooperation with this country,” Masadykov said.
Masadykov said the three organizations should increase coordination in their approach to Afghanistan and in efforts to support peace and stability in the country.
His remarks presented engagement with Taliban-controlled Afghanistan as a practical necessity for regional security, while acknowledging that threats linked to the country persist.
“The Taliban government has proved that it is a long-term political factor in the country,” Masadykov said.
He said most CSTO member states have intensified bilateral contacts with Taliban authorities, seeking to support Afghanistan’s economic development and social stability while reducing the risk of security threats emanating from the country.
“We are convinced that we are all interested in Afghanistan becoming an independent, prosperous and stable participant in international relations,” he said.
Masadykov also said Afghanistan’s long-term stability was inseparable from security and sustainable development in Central Asia.
He said experts monitoring Afghanistan had recorded “significant progress” by the Taliban government in recent years and that Taliban authorities generally controlled the country’s territory. At the same time, he said security risks remained in some areas.
The CSTO chief said relevant agencies of member states were working on coordinating efforts by the CSTO, CIS and SCO to counter regional security threats emanating from Afghanistan.
The three organizations are also considering developing a broader joint program to coordinate their response to those threats, he said.
Such a program, Masadykov said, would identify specific areas where the CSTO, CIS and SCO could expand cooperation. Their institutions already exchange intelligence and analytical material and conduct joint activities, operations and exercises.
Masadykov also highlighted efforts to strengthen the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border, a longstanding focus of the CSTO’s approach to Afghanistan.
He said implementation of a CSTO program to reinforce the border was underway, with a working group operating in Tajikistan. Member states have agreed on a list of weapons, military equipment and border-security technology to be provided to Tajikistan, he said.
Work is also underway on contracts and documentation needed to transfer the equipment.
The CSTO has maintained a working group on Afghanistan for 20 years. Masadykov said representatives of the United Nations, the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center and other bodies participate in the group, which monitors developments in Afghanistan and their implications for regional security.
His remarks came as senior officials from the three regional organizations discussed Afghanistan against a backdrop of continuing concern over militant groups operating in the country.
At the same conference, SCO Deputy Secretary-General Ahmad Saidmurodzoda said ISIS-K remained a major destabilizing force in Afghanistan and warned that the group was seeking to expand its activities beyond Afghanistan’s borders.
Saidmurodzoda also cited the presence of al-Qaida, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Jamaat Ansarullah in Afghanistan.
Taliban authorities have repeatedly said they will not allow Afghan territory to be used to threaten other countries and maintain that they have significantly weakened ISIS-K.
Masadykov, however, argued that the continuing security challenges strengthened the case for coordinated engagement rather than isolation.
“Afghanistan urgently needs peace, stability and economic development,” he said.
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