EDITORIAL (May 28 2009): Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan took an important step towards regional co-operation on Sunday when the three countries' presidents signed the "Tehran Declaration" at the end of a one-day tripartite summit. The declaration commits them to eliminate extremism and terrorism as well as drug smuggling from the region.
The three countries also resolved to collaborate closely in establishing and developing energy corridors in the region, including oil and gas pipelines and electricity networks. All these issues are inter-linked, so are the individual interests of the three countries.
Although the Taliban's brand of extremism has not affected Iran in ways it has Pakistan, but it has had its own share of adversarial encounters with the Taliban right from the time of their inception. Sometime ago, the Taliban started using poppy cultivation and heroin smuggling - the Taliban controlled areas in Afghanistan have turned the country into the world's largest source of heroin production and smuggling- to finance their war.
The activity is channelled mostly through Pakistan and Iran. The fighting itself has given an excuse to the US and its allies to maintain their military presence in the region, creating anxiety in Tehran. The US has accepted Iran's role as a stabilising force in Iraq, and would also like to do the same in Afghanistan. But it does not make a secret of its desire to destabilise Iran.
Not surprisingly, speaking at the opening session of the tripartite summit, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed his concern over the situation, saying the presence of foreign forces had "not succeeded" in stabilising the region.
Earlier this month, China had raised a similar alarm over what the country's Ambassador to Pakistan, Lou Zhaohui described as "the increasing US influence" in the region, saying, "these are issues of serious concern for China". From our perspective India's expanding presence in Afghanistan is another source of worry.
The issue is not only the defeat of violent extremism but also international rivalries that are complicating matters. It has become all the more important, therefore, for the regional stakeholders to get together and devise joint strategies to deal with the challenges at hand.
According to the joint communiqué issued in Tehran the three countries agreed to establish a mechanism for holding regular and periodic trilateral consultation on special issues. This trilateral consultation needs to be expanded to include the other neighbouring countries having shared borders such as China, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. They can play an effective role in countering the common challenge of extremist militancy.
Countries in the extended neighbourhood, like India, can wait until peace and normalcy returns, paving the way for energy and trade flows to and from Central Asia through Afghanistan, and alternatively Iran, and countries in the east and west of Pakistan via land and sea routes.
