Acting Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi spent four days in Islamabad discussing security, economic, and trade issues on Friday.
Before he departs from Kabul, Afghan Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Hafiz Zia Takkal stated that FM Muttaqi will head an “extensive political and commercial delegation.”
He added, “The Afghan government seeks extensive bilateral discussions on political and economic relations, regional security, and transit.”
The Foreign Office (FO) had announced a day earlier that Muttaqi will lead a high-level delegation consisting of the Acting Minister for Commerce and Industry, Haji Nooruddin Azizi, and senior officials from the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Transport, and Trade.
The Foreign Office had also stated that Pakistan and Afghanistan would assess their entire spectrum of bilateral relations in the political, economic, trade, connectivity, peace and security, and education domains.
On May 6, in addition to bilateral meetings, the interim Afghan foreign minister will take part in the fifth China-Pakistan-Afghanistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue.
State Councillor and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang arrived in Islamabad this morning for the trilateral foreign ministers’ conference.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari confirmed in a tweet today that bilateral and trilateral meetings with his Afghan Chinese counterparts will be conducted tomorrow (Saturday).
Since its inception in 2017, the trilateral dialogue mechanism has yielded remarkable results and evolved into a crucial forum for the three countries to deepen their mutual understanding and cooperation.
This issue comes amid escalating Afghan cross-border attacks and 150 predicted terrorist attacks on Afghan soil in 2022.
Bilawal calls for substantive engagement with the Afghan government.
Bilawal told the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in India today that Afghanistan presented new challenges and opportunities.
He advised the international community to work with the Afghan Interim Government to understand and influence events.
“We owe it to the people of Afghanistan not to repeat the mistakes of the past,” Bilawal said, adding that a united international community must continue to urge the Afghan authorities to adopt universally-accepted principles of political inclusivity and respect the rights of all Afghans, including the right of girls to an education.
For the security of Afghanistan, the region, and the globe, the international community should also assist in the development of Afghanistan’s anti-terrorism capabilities. “It is alarming that terrorist groups within Afghanistan are cooperating more with one another than we are as a global community,” the foreign minister stated.
Bilawal urged the Interim Afghan Government to uphold its commitment to prevent the use of Afghan territory for terrorist activities.
In addition, he urged the international community to resolve these security concerns to unleash Afghanistan’s and the region’s full potential.
What is up for discussion?
Pakistan may want to discuss more concerns than the Afghan foreign ministry has listed for the upcoming discussions.
One such issue is Pakistan’s demand that Afghanistan takes action against the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Which, according to Pakistani officials, operates on Afghan territory. The Taliban regime in Afghanistan denies these claims, however.
Former Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan told that the TTP issue was crucial for Pakistan and that the best way to resolve it was through “smooth and interrupting” engagement at the state-to-state level.
“It will necessitate close cooperation in border management, visa issues, commercial and transit procedures. It is impossible to surmount these obstacles without addressing the facts on the ground. “A holistic and long-term approach is required,” he added.
Khan added that the stability of the Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship presented enormous opportunities for regional economic integration and connectivity.
