China along with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan on Wednesday announced the formation of a quadrilateral security group in a bid to beef up their counter-terrorism measures, Reuters reported.

The quadrilateral security group was formed after Fang Fenghui, a member China's Central Military Commission, hosted a meeting with army chiefs of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan in western Xinjiang region.

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Army chiefs from all the four countries recognized the serious threat posed by terrorism and extremism and jointly agreed to form a quadrilateral security group for intelligence sharing and training, Xinhua reported.                    

"All parties reaffirmed they will cooperate to respond to these forces, and safeguard all member countries' peace and stability," Xinhua said.

The decision to form the security group comes amid rising concerns over terrorism in China's Xinjiang region, where the Uighur Muslim community is fighting an insurgency battle to form a separate state.   

Pakistan's Army Chief General Raheel Sharif assured Beijing of complete support from Islamabad in its fight against Uighur militants. China is especially concerned that violence in Afghanistan may spill over to the Xinjiang region.      

Meanwhile, China is taking definitive steps to ensure the restoration of stability in Afghanistan. Earlier this week, reports emerged that a Taliban delegation had visited China last month to discuss the security situation in Afghanistan with Chinese officials.      

China is also part of Quadrilateral Coordination Group that was formed to broke for peace with Taliban fighters. The Quadrilateral Coordination Group consists of Pakistan, the US, China and the Afghanistan government.

Tagschina, China and Pakistan, China Counter Terrorism, China Xinjiang