Regional Contradictions
Regional Contradictions: Recently, Afghanistan’s neighbours met in Tehran under the Tehran Format to discuss security and regional stability. Pakistan, China, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan attended the meeting. The Afghan Taliban refused to participate.
Regional Afghanistan Diplomacy
The Tehran Format is one of several regional efforts on Afghanistan. Since 2014, regional and extra-regional states have launched about ten platforms to coordinate on Afghanistan’s security. The Moscow Format remains the most important of these. Due to close Russia-Iran ties, many see the Tehran Format as an extension of the Moscow process.
Pakistan actively joins almost all regional forums on Afghanistan. These include the Tehran Format, Moscow Format, SCO Contact Group, Istanbul Process, and the Extended Troika. Pakistan places these forums at the center of its Afghanistan policy.
Pakistan’s Stake
First, Pakistan sees itself as the most affected country. It shares a long and porous border with Afghanistan. It has hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades. Pakistan has also suffered heavily from cross-border attacks and terrorism. For this reason, it stays engaged in all regional discussions.
Regional Pressure Strategy
Second, Pakistan uses these forums to highlight its security concerns. At the Tehran meeting, Pakistan raised the issue of cross-border infiltration. It pointed to terrorist groups like the TTP and BLA operating from Afghan soil. Pakistan wants regional and global recognition of these threats. It does not want others to dismiss them as unilateral claims.
Third, Pakistan seeks to pressure the Taliban through regional cooperation. Over the past two years, the Taliban expanded their outreach to many countries. Despite human rights abuses and restrictions on women and girls, they gained diplomatic presence in 39 capitals. Russia formally recognised the Taliban. Countries such as China, the UAE, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and India accepted Taliban ambassadors.
Divided Regional Approach
Pakistan believes this engagement failed to weaken Taliban ties with terrorist groups. Instead, limited engagement and continued aid strengthened the regime. The Taliban now feel less pressure to change their behaviour. Pakistan therefore wants a regional consensus on firm action against terrorist safe havens.
The Tehran Format failed to produce a joint action plan. It also failed to issue a joint communiqué. This failure exposed serious regional divisions.
Many countries support regional forums in principle. In practice, they prefer bilateral engagement with the Taliban. They pursue their own interests instead of collective pressure. Although they agree that Afghanistan’s stability benefits all, they avoid a unified approach.
Regional states also differ in strategy. One group supports limited engagement to retain leverage and access intelligence. The other group rejects normalisation without clear Taliban compliance. These opposing views block a common regional policy.
Structural Weaknesses
Another weakness lies in the structure of these forums. The Tehran Format remains consultative in nature. It lacks legal or institutional authority. Even when states agree on counterterrorism goals, they cannot enforce them. The Taliban often avoid multilateral commitments and rely on selective bilateral ties.
Long-Term Strategy
Despite these limits, Pakistan will continue using regional forums to raise its concerns. It should push for regular and organised Tehran-style meetings. Pakistan can use its strong ties with Iran to do so. With time, the Tehran Format could support joint counterterrorism efforts and better monitoring of militant movement.
Pakistan should also support the revival of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group. It should link this effort with the Tehran Format. Regional consensus will take time. However, it offers a more durable solution than short-term or unilateral actions.
Published in Dawn,17th December 2025
