Islamabad decides to consolidate ties with Kabul

ISLAMABAD: In its first official statement after Pakistan re-started diplomatic engagement with Afghanistan last week, the Foreign Office said Monday the government decided to further consolidate bilateral ties, including through high-level engagement and enhancement of trade and transit cooperation.

This was decided in a meeting at the Foreign Office where Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar chaired a meeting on relations with Afghanistan. “Pakistan’s Special Representative on Afghanistan, Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq, provided a detailed briefing on his recent visit to Kabul, highlighting key engagements with Afghan authorities and discussions on bilateral cooperation,” added the statement.

However, there were no details about Pakistan’s decision on several requests put forth by Afghanistan specially related to the return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan. The Afghan Foreign Ministry had after meetings with Ambassador Sadiq pointed out, “Afghan refugees in Pakistan should be allowed to return to their homeland gradually and with dignity, rather than expelled forcibly.”

Foreign Secretary and other senior officials of the Foreign Ministry also attended the meeting. The foreign minister had directed Ambassador Sadiq to visit Kabul from March 21-23 and focus on enhancing bilateral relations.

The ambassador held meetings with Afghan Foreign Minister Maulvi Amir Khan Muttaqi and the acting commerce minister. Trade and security were also discussed at length during the Kabul meetings.

Ambassador Sadiq had tweeted from Kabul that both countries had agreed to enhance high-level engagements and dialogue to strengthen bilateral relations.

It is expected that foreign minister-level visits to Kabul and Islamabad would be planned. Publicly at least neither governments mentioned the major irritant between the two sides which has soured relations that is the TTP and the BLA. These terrorist groups have continued to infiltrate and carry out strikes on Pakistan from the soil of Afghanistan. Before leaving Kabul, Ambassador Sadiq on the occasion of Republic Day in a statement said that Pakistan and Afghanistan’s economic interests are intrinsically interlinked. “Peace and progress in Afghanistan is essential for regional stability. Pakistan and Afghanistan must synergise their efforts to foster regional economic development”, he said.

Afghanistan, the ambassador emphasized, remains one of the most important regional partners of Pakistan. “Both the countries must work together to enhance bilateral trade and galvanize regional connectivity. Pakistan remains committed to a strong and mutually beneficial bilateral relationship with Afghanistan,” he added.