Opening Remarks by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan H.E Salahuddin Rabbani at the Second Meeting of Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China

بسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

Honorable Members of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, please allow me to welcome you to Kabul, following your discussions in Islamabad only one week ago. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the government of Pakistan for hosting that first meeting of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group, and to congratulate the Group on making good progress, including adopting terms for their very important work.

The Quadrilateral Coordination Group is gathered here today as a result of extensive preparations and discussions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United States and China. These include the meeting of H.E. President Ghani and H.E. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Paris on November 30th, the important bilateral, trilateral and quadrilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Fifth Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process meeting in Islamabad on 9 December and the visit of Pakistan Army Chief Gen. Raheel Sharif to Kabul on 27 December. Now we hope today’s meeting will sustain the good momentum of this overall effort and of the Islamabad quadrilateral coordination group meeting last week.

We attach unique importance to the many discussions and decisions in this framework so far to determine specific mechanisms for working and collaborating together more effectively to ensure peace and stability in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region.

The Government of Afghanistan is encouraged by the collective will of this group to robustly support a result-oriented peace process and the willingness of our colleagues, especially in Pakistan, to explore options of use of all means necessary in dealing with groups who would refuse to lay down arms and join a peaceful life.

We are also encouraged specifically by the repeated strong commitment of the leadership of Pakistan during this time to cooperate with us on a range of issues, including counter-terrorism and facilitating a result-oriented peace and reconciliation process, the progress of which is to be effectively monitored by this Quadrilateral Coordination Group.

I wish to reiterate that early restoration of peace in Afghanistan is the demand and desire of every Afghan citizen, and a precondition for peace in the wider region, especially in Pakistan, a neighboring country that has also not remained immune to the scourge of terrorism and violence.

Of course, the people of Afghanistan have suffered more than enough from years of senseless violence and destruction. There isn’t a single Afghan family that hasn’t been affected by the daily acts of brutal and deadly terrorism carried out across our cities, towns, and villages. Our children — girls and boys -- are attacked on their way to school and our mosques and public spaces are blown up all in the name of a noble religion, which in reality stands for peace and peaceful coexistence.

That is why, once again, on behalf of the people and government of Afghanistan, I take this opportunity and call on all Taliban groups to accept our call for peace through dialogue, and to come to the table for talks so that we can resolve all differences politically and ensure the rightful and just desire of the Afghan people for lasting peace, strongly supported by members of this Quadrilateral Coordination Group.

Any further delay on the part of the Taliban to come to the table for talks now will further isolate them in the eyes of the Afghan people. Those who would miss this opportunity to join the peace and reconciliation process will indicate clearly that a sovereign, independent, stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan is not in their interest, and that their objectives are only terror and destruction. Therefore, our hope is that this group will find also ways to collectively deal with those refusing to come to talks.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

The Government and people of Afghanistan are confident that with the support of the United States and China as two vital members of the Group, we will be able to launch an effective peace process that would generate the results we all seek in a timely manner.

I hope that your wide-ranging discussions today will pave the ground for peace talks in the near future, and will specify the next steps to be taken at each stage of the process.

Indeed, without a clarity of purpose and a unity of effort backed by requisite political will and shared commitment and shared responsibility, the success we all desire would become difficult to attain.

While we understand achieving a lasting peace would require patience and determination, it is equally important to keep in mind that the Afghan public will not accept an open-ended process without tangible results. Therefore, as we move forward, the people of Afghanistan will judge our success by the sense of urgency we muster here today.

An effective roadmap may not focus so much on rigid pre-conditions but must provide redlines for strict compliance to ensure the integrity of a meaningful process and to honor the many sacrifices of the Afghan people.

I can state with utmost assurance that we, the people and Government of Afghanistan are prepared, as we have always been and as we have repeatedly stated, to enter into peace talks with the Taliban groups in good faith to reach a peaceful settlement, which respects the Afghan Constitution and the many hard-earned gains of the Afghan people over the past 14 years, especially the human rights of Afghan women and girls.

I wish you the best in your next discussions today to chart a result-oriented roadmap for peace that would, among other things, aim to result in resumption of talks soon and also address all possible obstacles inside and outside Afghanistan to peace and reconciliation. This is a historic opportunity, which I hope all of us will grasp with both hands for the sake of peace and prosperity not only in Afghanistan but in the wider region.

Thank you.