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Pakistan, Afghanistan agree not to allow terror from their soil against each other
The development comes as the two nations try to rebuild bilateral ties that have been hit due to militancy and Islamabad’s expulsion of Afghan refugees.
Pakistan and Afghanistan reached an agreement on Saturday not to allow the use of their territories for terror attacks against each other.
The development comes as the two nations attempt to rebuild bilateral ties strained by militancy and Islamabad’s expulsion of Afghan refugees.
The agreement was reached during Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s visit to Kabul. During the trip, Dar met with senior leaders of Afghanistan’s Taliban regime and discussed key issues of mutual interest, PTI reported.
“We have requested our hosts that we have to work together for the progress, betterment and peace, and security of the region,” PTI quoted the Pakistani foreign minister as saying.
“For that, neither will we allow anyone to use our soil to conduct illicit activities in Afghanistan and graciously nor will you allow anyone to use Afghan soil,” he added.
Dar also said that if someone from one country uses the soil for terror activities against the other, the other party would be allowed to take appropriate action.
The Pakistani foreign minister met the Taliban regime’s acting Prime Minister Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund and also held delegation-level talks with acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Dar was visiting Afghanistan on Muttaqi’s invitation.
Dar's day-long visit comes amid an intensified drive against illegal Afghan refugees, with Pakistan making it clear that the only way for Afghans to stay in the country was to have entered legally with a visa, and growing tensions rooted in Islamabad’s security concerns.
The souring of the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan
The relationship between Islamabad and Kabul has steadily deteriorated since August 2021 after the hasty withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan and the Taliban taking control.
Pakistan has maintained that these armed groups operate from within Afghan soil -- a claim that Afghan officials have denied -- maintaining that no one can use Afghan soil against any country, local media reported ahead of Dar's visit.
According to a statement by the Foreign Office (FO) quoted by PTI, Dar's extensive discussions with Muttaqi comprised discussions on a comprehensive range of topics about bilateral relations.
Their discussions underscored the need to devise strategies for enhancing cooperation across diverse areas of mutual interest, including security, trade, transit, connectivity, and people-to-people contacts, it said.
“The deputy prime minister emphasised the paramount importance of addressing all pertinent issues, particularly those related to security and border management, to fully realise the potential for regional trade and connectivity,” it said.
On the other hand, Afghanistan has been miffed with its southern neighbour over the treatment of Afghan refugees. The issue was also raised during the visit.
