Muttaqi makes Pakistan, TTP talks pitch

Says Pakistan and Afghanistan have to jointly invest in infrastructure, especially railways, corridor projects

ISLAMABAD:

Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi on Monday suggested to the government of Pakistan and the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to sit down for talks to resolve their issues.

Speaking at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Muttaqi stressed that the government in Kabul had fulfilled its responsibility vis-à-vis the TTP and Islamic State by initiating a dialogue between Islamabad and the TTP.

“The issue of TTP and ISIS [Da’ish] is not just two years old. The propaganda about the presence of terrorists in Afghanistan has been going on since the past 20 years. No-one has any proof of the presence of terrorists in Afghanistan,” he said.

د ا.ا.ا. په اړه د رسنیو د دروغجنو تبليغاتو په تړاو د متقي صاحب لطیفه یې مثال. pic.twitter.com/3CjpHh3P9g

— Hafiz Zia Ahmad (@HafizZiaAhmad1) May 8, 2023

 

“Pakistan has lost 80,000 lives at the hands of the TTP. We do not want any more bloodshed or unrest on the Pakistan soil,” he continued. “We have initiated talks between the government of Pakistan and the TTP and request both the sides to hold dialogue.”

Muttaqi said that after 44 years of instability, Afghanistan was on the path to improvement. “During the foreign occupation, first by the then Soviet Union and then by the United States, seeds of misunderstanding and suspicion were sown in both countries.”

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Muttaqi stressed that security-related issues could be resolved through dialogue. He added that in the tripartite talks over the last weekend, it was decided that no country would allow the use of its land against anyone.

The Afghan minister emphasised that the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan went beyond neighbourliness, as the two countries were bound by historical, religious, social, geographical and public bonds.

Therefore, he said, both the countries would have to move jointly towards a bright future by showing flexibility to solve the problems. “The people of Pakistan and Afghanistan have made sacrifices. Now we have to take advantage of the available opportunities.”

The Afghan foreign minister pointed out that both countries faced similar problems of poverty, climate change, health, energy and other challenges. He proposed joint investment in infrastructure projects, especially railways and corridor projects.

“Both countries are facing severe energy crisis. Pakistan’s investment in Afghanistan’s energy sector could increase bilateral growth 10-fold,” he said. “There are many more opportunities for our Pakistani and Afghan brothers in joint ventures,” he added.

He revealed that trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan had increased from $1.1 to 1.4 billion and expressed the hope that the Pak-Afghan trade would exceed $3 billion in the next few years.

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He also proposed various other initiatives to increase the bilateral trade and facilitate the people-to-people contacts. “Customs system has to be digitised for the Pak-Afghan trade,” Muttaqi said.

The minister admitted that international sanctions were a major challenge in Afghanistan’s economic relations with other countries. However, he added, that Afghanistan’s economy had improved despite these challenges.

Referring to a World Bank report, Muttaqi said that connectivity with Pakistan and Central Asian countries was very important. He praised Pakistan’s efforts for the regional connectivity.

Muttaqi made it clear that the Taliban government had never stated that women’s education was unislamic or prohibited. He added that the government only stated that educational activities would be suspended until further orders.

“We, currently, have 1 million students at the primary level, including girls up to the sixth grade. Thousands of Afghan women are working in various fields, including health workers. Afghan women are currently studying in different schools,” he added.

He also added that the entire leadership of the Islamic Emirate was present in Kabul. “There are 500,000 civil servants who are working in various institutions of Afghanistan,” he said.

Muttaqi is currently on a four-day visit to Pakistan. Besides holding bilateral meetings, he has also participated in the 5th China-Pakistan-Afghanistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue on Saturday.