Shanghai Cooperation Group Calls For End To Violence In Afghanistan

The SCO also called for increased cooperation of all interested states and global organisations under the central coordinating role of the UN for the "stabilisation and development" of Afghanistan.

As the Taliban makes rapid advances across Afghanistan, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has said the activities of terrorist outfits remained a key factor of instability in the country and called on all parties concerned to refrain from actions that could lead to unpredictable consequences. The SCO also called for increased cooperation of all interested states and global organisations under the central coordinating role of the UN for the "stabilisation and development" of Afghanistan. At a meeting in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe on Wednesday, the foreign ministers of India, China, Pakistan, Russia and other member countries of the eight-nation grouping carried out a detailed deliberation on the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan as the US withdraws its forces from the country. The SCO also reaffirmed its position that there is no alternative to settling the conflict in Afghanistan through political dialogue and pitched for an inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process, a position that is similar to that of India's.