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| Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process |
Following the one-day Heart of Asia ministerial conference in Amritsar, India, 14 countries in the region adopted a declaration and called for an immediate end to all forms of terrorism and to the financing of the problem.
The declaration stated that what was of concern was the "gravity of the security situation in Afghanistan in particular and the region and the high level of violence caused by the Taliban, terrorist groups including Daesh and its affiliates, the Haqqani Network, al-Qaeda, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, East Turkistan Islamic Movement, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, TTP, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Jundullah and other foreign terrorist fighters.
"We demand an immediate end to all forms of terrorism, as well as all support to it, including financing of terrorism. We recognize that terrorism is the biggest threat to peace, stability and cooperation in our region. We encourage the international community to continue to assist the Government of Afghanistan.
"We strongly call for concerted regional and international cooperation to ensure elimination of terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, including dismantling of terrorist sanctuaries and safe havens in the Heart of Asia region, as well as disrupting all financial, tactical and logistical support for terrorism.
"In this regard, we call upon all states to take action against these terrorist entities in accordance with their respective national counter terrorism policies, their international obligations and the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy 2006. Furthermore, we encourage early finalization of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism with consensus."
The declaration also called on the international community to further strengthen international and regional cooperation towards sustained efforts for a secure, stable and prosperous Afghanistan.
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