Pakistan, Afghanistan vow to strengthen bilateral cooperation, regional peace

Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq, met Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqqi in Kabul on Tuesday to discuss enhancing bilateral cooperation.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan had been strained due to frequent border skirmishes and Islamabad repeatedly demanding Kabul to take action against the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it says uses Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations.

However, officials of the two countries have lately engaged in diplomatic interactions, with the last meeting being between Afghan chargé d’affaires Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on December 9.

That meeting followed close on the heels of a meeting between Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul Obaid Nizamani and Taliban Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob.

“Met Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi today. Held wide-ranging discussions. Agreed to work together to further strengthen bilateral cooperation as well as for peace and progress in the region,” a post by Ambassador Sadiq said on X.

A day prior, Sadiq had also held a meeting with the Afghan Acting Minister of Interior Sirajuddin Haqqani in Kabul, according to a separate post on X.

“Both sides agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields to further enhance the fraternal relations between the two countries,” the post said.

Earlier this month, Pakistan decided to reappoint Ambassador Sadiq as its special representative to Afghanistan. Though no official announcement was made in this regard, the appointment was confirmed by a source privy to the development, according to Dawn.

The appointment came amid reports that the Afghan Taliban had begun relocating members of the TTP and their families away from the border in Ghazni, their new abode to ease tensions with Pakistan.

The Foreign Office said on Dec 13 that recent engagements with Afghanistan underscored Pakistan’s desire for resolution of outstanding issues through dialogue.

Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch had said, at a weekly media briefing, that recent meetings were “an expression of Pakistan’s interest in dialogue to resolve any issues that arise from time to time and to find constructive approach and solutions to issues, including issues that are of serious concern to Pakistan”.

The back-to-back meetings had given the impression that the two sides were preparing for renewal of engagement after a period of tension caused by Pakistani allegations of the TTP being allowed sanctuaries on Afghan soil.

Baloch had said earlier in the month that counterterrorism was on top of the bilateral agenda.