Pakistan’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Ambassador Asif Khan Durrani, visited Kabul on an unannounced visit and held talks with Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi. The visit comes amid tensions between the two neighboring countries due to an increase in terrorist attacks by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Afghanistan.
The Pakistan Army recently revealed that the TTP used Afghan soil to carry out attacks on checkposts in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral region. This led to a clash between Pakistani and Afghan forces at the Torkham border, resulting in its closure for almost nine days.
The purpose of Durrani’s visit is believed to be aimed at easing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. During the meeting, the Afghan foreign minister emphasized the need for urgent measures to address the security issues and prevent future untoward incidents. Both sides emphasized the importance of avoiding statements that create a gap between the two nations.
Durrani called for cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan in resolving security problems, facilitating cross-border movement of passengers, enhancing bilateral trade, and improving transit trade. He also assured the Afghan side that scholarships for Afghan students would be resumed.
Some of the key issues discussed during the meeting include security problems, arrests of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, treatment of Afghans at the Chaman-Spin Boldak border, and transit trade.
Pakistan is yet to issue a formal statement regarding the visit of their special envoy to Kabul.
In light of recent incidents of TTP attacks on Pakistani army posts in Chitral and the closure of the Torkham crossing, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Kabul, commented that this visit marks the first step towards addressing these challenges.