ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan have expressed their willingness to improve relations with each other, strengthen political mutual trust, enhance cooperation in various fields including counter-terrorism and jointly meet security challenges.

In a joint press release on Sunday, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan expressed their commitment to maintaining regional peace and stability, enhancing regional connectivity and economic cooperation and promoting shared security and development.

The Chinese side hoped Afghanistan and Pakistan could maintain stable and sound relations, and was willing to provide necessary assistance in this regard based on the needs of both sides.

According to press release, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to establish a crisis management mechanism, which would include prevention through timely and effective intelligence and information sharing and other mutually agreed measures.

This would enable the two sides to maintain timely and effective communications in case of any emergencies, including terrorist attacks, with a view to seeking proper solution through dialogue and consultation and preventing deterioration of the situation which might have negative effect on the bilateral relationship. The Chinese side would support this mechanism.

The three parties agreed to establish the China- Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ dialogue mechanism to cooperate on issues of mutual interest, beginning with economic cooperation.

The three parties believed that peace and reconciliation was the fundamental solution to the Afghan issue, which could not be solved by violent means.

The Chinese and the Pakistani sides supported the “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned” reconciliation process, and stood ready to continue to play a constructive role in advancing this process.

The three parties called on the Afghan Taliban to join the reconciliation process at an early date.

The three parties believed that the Quadrilateral Coordination Group should be revived to create an enabling environment for peace talks and for Taliban to join the peace talks.

They supported Kabul process and held the view that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization-Afghanistan Contact Group should be revived as early as possible to play a constructive role in moving forward the Afghan reconciliation process.

At the invitation of Afghanistan and Pakistan, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visited Afghanistan and Pakistan on June 24-25.

During this visit, the three parties condemned the recent terrorist attacks occurred in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, and extended condolences to the deceased and sympathy to the affected people, the Foreign Office said  in a press release.

The three parties had indepth exchange of views on the Afghan issue, the relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan and China-Afghanistan-Pakistan trilateral cooperation. – APP