Pak envoy meets Afghan FM in Kabul

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan’s point man for Afghanistan on Thursday undertook an unannounced trip to Kabul as the relations between the two neighbours had been strained in recent weeks due to continued cross-border terrorist attacks.

Ambassador Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, held talks with interim Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and other officials in the Afghan capital.

There was no statement issued yet by the Foreign Office about the latest trip by Pakistan’s Afghan troubleshooter but official sources said the visit was part of efforts by the two sides to ease tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

A statement issued by the Afghan foreign ministry said Muttaqi told the Pakistani envoy that “Pakistan and Afghanistan, as two neighbours and Islamic countries, should refrain from giving statements against each other, so it does not cause further tensions”.

Read More: Mistrust threatens to derail Pak-Afghan bonhomie

The statement also said the issue of Afghan refugees’ detention also came under discussion.

According to the Afghan foreign ministry, the Pakistani envoy promised to revive the scholarship programme for Afghan students. The statement also said Ambassador Durani called for close cooperation between the two countries to deal with common security challenges.

Read More: No headway in talks on Torkham issue

The visit came at a time when tensions between the countries were high.

The key border crossing remained closed for nine days after an exchange of fire between the border forces of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Sept 6.

Both sides blamed the other for initiating the fire and subsequent closure of the border.

The Afghan side insisted that Pakistan resorted to unprovoked firing when its forces were repairing an old post on its side of the border. Islamabad, however, contested the claims, insisting that the Afghan Taliban were constructing a new post on its territory.

Officials said the main cause behind the friction between the two countries was the continued cross border terrorist attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The Torkham border crossing was reopened after officials said receiving assurances from the Afghan side that they would not allow the Afghan soil to be used against Pakistan.

The day Pakistan and Afghan forces clashed at Torkham border, hundreds of TTP terrorists launched an attack from across the border in Kelash, Chitral district.

Pakistan managed to foil the attack, according to officials, who claimed they had the timely intelligence. However, four Pakistani soldiers embraced martyrdom while 12 terrorists were killed in the encounter.

This was the second visit by Ambassador Durani to Kabul.

When he first visited a few months back, he delivered a clear message to the Afghan Taliban government on the banned TTP. However, sources said he returned to Pakistan without any major progress.

The latest visit was yet another push by Pakistan to convince the Afghan Taliban to tackle the TTP threat.

Pakistan is concerned that despite promises by the Afghan Taliban, the TTP is still operating out of the neighbouring country with liberty.

US special representative for Afghanistan Tom West recently told a US think tank that the TTP was posing a major threat to regional security, including Pakistan. He said the TTP had flourished since the return of the Afghan Taliban in August 2021.