DND Report: The statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation S.V. Lavrov at the Eighth Meeting of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan, Moscow, 5 October 2026, was an excellent achievement for the Afghan Taliban regime as he said that the national government that came to power, headed by the Taliban Movement, brought the country’s territory under control and, it must be acknowledged, is governing it quite successfully.

Possibly, His Excellency Lavrov forgot that Afghan Taliban did not come through any election or Jirga decision and only through a contract with the United States and through guns, not votes. Neither is this regime all-inclusive nor approved by the people of Afghanistan. The so-called Interim Government of Afghan Taliban is still interim even after five years have passed, as they did not hold any election or Jirga to get the approval of the public, nor included representatives of other ethnic groups and women in the government.

Moreover, H.E. Lavrov added that Afghan security forces are waging an uncompromising fight against the Islamic State and other terrorist groups. Hundreds of militants have been eliminated, and a number of high-profile terrorist attacks have been thwarted, including those targeting foreign nationals and diplomatic missions. These observations are also contrary to facts, as Islamic State and Afghan Taliban, since the last three years, have demarcated regions for influence and they closely operate together, and Afghan Taliban are officially hosting UN-proscribed terror groups such as TTP, BLA, Majeed Brigade and many more—almost 20 terror groups are operating from Afghanistan, as mentioned by several UN reports on Regional Security. One can justify Russia for pleasing Afghan Taliban so much because Russia wants a peaceful relation with Afghan Taliban so it can keep itself safe from the wrath of Afghan Taliban, who use terrorism, particularly suicide bombers, as ‘diplomatic leverage’ against neighbouring states. There is no doubt that Russia can also use Afghan Taliban foot soldiers against Ukraine as they are best hired guns and mercenaries, and any country can hire them even without global bidding on the dark web, rather just having a closed-door meeting with them.

The statement of H.E. Lavrov is not accepted by those in Pakistan who cover the Afghan issue and who know Afghanistan better than any diplomat or foreigner. One of such persons is Hassan Khan, one of the most respected journalists and writers in Pakistan, who has been covering the Afghan issue since ages. He, in one of his X messages, commented on the October 5, 2026, meeting of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan. Titled “Of Moscow Format & Taliban Laundry!”, his X message says that Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan have virtually become a laundry for Afghan Taliban with the blessings of Russia. His message adds as:

Russia, who till yesterday were convinced of Taliban regime providing safe havens to terrorist networks and—by Moscow’s own assessment—harbouring 6,000 to 7,000 TTP hardcore fighters posing threat to regional security—preferred a cat-silence over the emerging threats from Taliban’s Afghanistan. Russian FM Sergey Lavrov’s Moscow Format speech means Russia appears to be fully satisfied with Taliban regime’s actions against ISKP, ignoring Taliban policy of providing a permissive environment to terror networks to use Afghan soil freely. No mention of minorities, restrictions on women and girls, or religious and jihadi indoctrination shows Moscow is now pushing under the rug its own assessments & warnings about extremist networks operating from Afghan soil. From Moscow Format meeting, it appears Russia is more interested in pulling Afghanistan into its geopolitical orbit than confronting the security and human rights record of Taliban Regime. For neighbouring countries, terrorism emanating from Afghanistan is a big challenge.

His detailed message also includes that Russia has let down the Moscow Format by failing to address terrorism, an issue of great importance for neighbouring countries, and said that regional security cannot be reduced to ISKP alone while other terrorist networks operate in a permissive environment on Afghan soil.

While criticizing the ‘the new-found selective approach of Russia’, he said this approach has a direct human cost for Pakistan. It is pertinent to mention that in 2026 alone, terrorist attacks emanating from Afghan soil resulted in 1,327 Pakistanis martyred and 2,484 injured, while 1,865 terrorists have been eliminated. Pakistan has identified 260 Afghan nationals killed while involved in terrorist activity inside Pakistan.

Pakistan’s delegation headed by Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq showed the mirror to participants at 8th ‘Moscow Format Consultations’ on Afghanistan, highlighting how the Afghan regime is spreading terrorism globally by boldly telling everybody sitting in the meeting that terrorism remains at the core of Afghanistan’s problems, with roots in the nexus between the Taliban Regime and terrorist groups, including the TTP, BLA, ETIM, ISKP, Al Qaeda and their affiliates, that operate with impunity on Afghan soil.

One can understand that Afghan Taliban are needed by Russia due to its constant war with Ukraine and that is the reason that Russia, being the only state on earth, has recognized the terror regime of Afghan Taliban, but Moscow should not be so blunt as to call murderers of Pakistani people an ‘excellent achievement for Afghan Taliban regime’ when the Pakistani delegation was sitting there. One can hope that Pakistan would not attend a ‘Roadshow for Taliban’ next year in Moscow.