Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar landed in Kabul on a one-day visit on Saturday. He held meetings with high level officials where it was agreed to maintain high-level exchanges to solve bilateral issues.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dar was welcomed at the airport by several Afghan officials including Deputy Minister for Finance and Administration, Dr. Mohammad Naeem Wardag, DG MoFA Mufti Noor Ahmad and Chief of State Protocol Faisal Jalali.
Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani, who heads the Pakistani mission in Kabul, was also present upon Dar’s arrival. Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq also travelled with Dar to Kabul.
Dar held delegation level talks with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul. The talks covered a broad range of bilateral issues security, trade, transit, connectivity, and people to people contacts.
“The Deputy Prime Minister emphasised the paramount importance of addressing all pertinent issues, particularly those related to security and border management, in order to fully realise the potential for regional trade and connectivity,” a statement from MoFA said.
Dar then met Afghan Prime Minister Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund to discuss issues of mutual interest.
“Reaffirming the commitment to continued engagement, both sides agreed to maintain high-level exchanges to further strengthen the relations between the two brotherly countries,” a statement from MoFA said.
Before departing for Afghanistan, Dar told PTV that the two countries share historical ties which must be strengthened further through engagement. He added that he was aiming to build cooperation that would benefit the people of both countries.
A statement by the MoFA on Friday had said that Dar’s visit will encompass the entire range of Pak-Afghan relations.
On Thursday, Dar had announced that preparatory meetings were underway to pave the way for his visit to Kabul. He had added that the visit would help to resolve the deadlock that had characterised Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan in recent years.
The visit comes as Pakistan proceeds with the second phase of deporting refugees back to Afghanistan. It also comes amid sustained statements by Islamabad that terrorists including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Baloch Liberation Army are operating from safe havens in Afghanistan.
