Ayaz Gul
VOA News
December 24, 2024
Islamabad — Taliban leaders in Afghanistan hosted meetings Tuesday with a high-level delegation from neighboring Pakistan, marking the resumption of such interactions after a year-long pause due to terrorism allegations.
Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s newly appointed special envoy for Afghan affairs, led his country’s team at the talks in Kabul with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, among others.
Muttaqi’s office said in a post-meeting statement that the delegations focused on enhancing diplomatic, trade, and transit relations between the countries, which share a nearly 2,600-kilometer border.
The chief Taliban diplomat stated that Kabul “desires positive relations” with Islamabad.
Muttaqi said without elaborating that to develop trade and transit ties further, both governments “must enhance mutual coordination, facilitate travelers’ cross-border movement, and address issues straining relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Taliban’s statement quoted Pakistani envoy Sadiq as saying that his mission was to “bolster” bilateral political, economic, commercial, and transit relations.
“Held wide-ranging discussions. Agreed to work together to further strengthen bilateral cooperation as well as for peace and progress in the region,” the Pakistani envoy wrote on his X social media platform.
Sadiq’s predecessor, Asif Ali, visited Kabul in September 2023 when Pakistan was experiencing a dramatic rise in terrorist attacks attributed to the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, with Islamabad persistently alleging the militant group was orchestrating the deadly cross-border violence from its Afghan “hideouts.”
TTP attacks have since intensified and killed hundreds of Pakistani civilians as well as security forces, leading to a further deterioration in relations.
“Given the current circumstances, we must expedite our collaborative efforts to safeguard the relationship between our peoples and ensure regional stability and development,” Haqqani’s office quoted him Tuesday as telling the Pakistani delegation.
He stressed “the urgency of accelerating joint efforts to resolve security and political challenges,” according to the statement.
Taliban leaders have consistently denied allegations that Afghan territory is being used as a launching pad for attacks. The de facto Afghan government maintains it does not support the TTP or any other foreign militant group, describing the violence in Pakistan as an “internal problem” for the neighboring country to resolve rather than blaming Kabul for the crisis.
Afghanistan is landlocked, relying heavily on Pakistani overland routes and seaports to conduct bilateral and international trade. Tensions over terrorism charges have led to a significant decline in Afghan trade and transit activities through Pakistan in recent months.
The Taliban swept back to power in 2021, but no country has officially recognized them as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan.
Several neighboring and regional countries, including Pakistan, China, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran have retained their embassies in Kabul since the Taliban takeover, allowing the fundamentalist de facto rulers to take charge of Afghan diplomatic missions in their respective territories.
Western countries have refused to open official contacts with the Taliban over their sweeping restrictions on Afghan women’s access to education, work, and most aspects of public life. The United Nations has turned down Taliban requests to let them represent Afghanistan at the global organization, citing the treatment of women.
Taliban leaders defend their governance in line with Islamic law, known as Sharia, and Afghan culture, rejecting international criticism as interference in the country’s internal matters.