A delegation led by Pakistan’s National Security Advisor, Dr. Moeed Yusuf, held talks with Afghanistan’s acting Deputy Prime Minister, Abdul Salam Hanafi on Saturday, on matters of mutual interests. Both discussed a wide range of issues, including politics and trade. Meanwhile, the Taliban government assured the Pakistani delegation that Afghan soil would not be allowed to use against the neighboring countries, including Pakistan.
Abdul Salam Hanafi gave the assurance amid an increase in terrorist attacks by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan after it declined to negotiate a ceasefire last month with Islamabad. The Afghan Taliban had been involved in brokering a ceasefire with Pakistan and the TTP previously, but that truce lasted for one month and there was no progress in the peace negotiations. Therefore, Pakistan is concerned about TTP’s continued use of Afghan soil as a base for attacks against Pakistan. Since then, Pakistan has declared that it will resume operations against TTP, and will fight to eradicate this threat.
Moreover, in a statement, the Taliban government stated that the Afghan deputy Prime Minister had informed the Pakistani delegation that it was against Islamic Emirate policies to allow Afghan soil to become a weapon against other countries. We expect similar actions to be taken by other countries.
According to the Afghan deputy Prime Minister, “Pakistan and Afghanistan are both ‘neighboring’ countries and are ‘brotherly countries’ which have historical and religious relationships and I hope this relationship can last within an atmosphere of brotherhood.” Adding to this, Hanafi stated, “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan seeks good relations with Pakistan, based on mutual respect and promotion of trade and transit relationships.”
Thus, he expressed gratitude for Pakistan’s hospitality and help in hosting Afghan refugees. “We would love to have relations between Pakistan and the rest of the region based on mutual respect and goodwill. This will ensure that trade relations and transit relations can improve further,” he added.
In this regard, the Afghan deputy Prime Minister appealed to Pakistani traders and investors not to ignore Afghanistan’s energy, mining, and agriculture sectors and invest as much as they can.
NSA Yusuf, for his part, stressed the importance of economic relations. He said that it was impossible to ensure peace and stability without establishing trade and transit ties. According to the statement, he said that Pakistan is committed to the full implementation of major projects. The two countries should also form a team of the private sector to hold talks about expanding health, education, and trade, as well as information technology.
Therefore, officials of relevant ministries said that the purpose of the visit was to assess the humanitarian, financial, and development needs of Afghanistan in different sectors.
Author: Huda Raza
Student of International Relations at National Defense University