Pak, Afghan officials discuss issues in bilateral ties

Islamabad, Mar 23 (PTI) Officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan held talks in Kabul to improve ties strained due to differences over handling of militancy, transit trade, refugees and other bilateral issues, it emerged on Sunday.  According to the Foreign Office, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq is visiting Afghanistan from March 21-23 at the direction of Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar “to discuss Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations”.

Sadiq held talks with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi. The two sides emphasised the importance of holding joint meetings and exchanging delegations to resolve outstanding issues, according to a statement from the Afghan Foreign Ministry.

“In this meeting, bilateral relations, political and economic cooperation, transit, and people-to-people exchanges between Afghanistan and Pakistan were discussed,” the statement said.

It further stated that Muttaqi emphasised that obstacles to transit routes and trade are not in the interest of either side and should not be linked to other disputes. Sadiq in response assured that Pakistan would take practical steps to address these concerns.

Sadiq in a post on X said that both countries had agreed to enhance high-level engagements and dialogue to strengthen bilateral relations. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to ongoing engagement and mutually beneficial ties with Afghanistan.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share a history of uneasy ties. It was hoped that the situation would improve following the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in 2021, who had enjoyed Pakistan's support in their armed struggle.  However, the optimism was short-lived and ties deteriorated sooner than expected due to allegations of Pakistan that the Afghan Taliban were not cooperating to control the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants who allegedly operate from Afghanistan to carry out militancy inside Pakistan.

As Pakistan suffered an intensified onslaught by the TTP rebels, other bilateral issues including transit trade and refugees living in Pakistan propped up to further sour the ties.

In the recent border tension, the key Torkham border crossing remained shut for 25 days and opened a few days ago under a temporary arrangement until April 15.

Another major issue is the presence of over 3 million Afghan refugees, almost half of them living illegally, and Pakistan has been trying to send them back. It launched a campaign against the illegal aliens in 2023. About 80,000 Afghans have reportedly returned so far.  Lately, Pakistan set March 31 as the deadline for about 1.3 million refugees having Afghan Citizen Card holders and those residing illegally to leave voluntarily, after which mass deportations will commence, as per an official warning from the Ministry of Interior.

The Afghan side has urged Pakistan to show leniency and relax the deadline but there is no change in Islamabad's stance. PTI SH  NSA NSA

Source: PTI