The de facto Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi, highlighted this Wednesday to his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, that the Taliban seek greater trade and transit cooperation with Islamabad, at the trilateral summit between both countries and China being held today in Kabul.
In a statement, Muttaqi emphasized Kabul’s interest in expanding economic cooperation with Islamabad, particularly in the commercial, transit, and joint development project sectors, and urged the Pakistani delegation to take “practical measures to resolve the challenges and facilitate” these areas.
In a statement, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said that Afghanistan’s foreign policy is “balanced” and “economy-focused.”
“The Islamic Emirate seeks positive relations based on mutual respect with the whole world, including Pakistan,” the Taliban said in a statement.
In addition, the fundamentalists, who have been in power in Kabul since their return to power in August 2021, expressed their concern about the situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, and asked Islamabad to “avoid the violation of the rights of Afghans residing there and those who arrive in the future.”
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For their part, according to the Taliban, Dar underscored Islamabad’s commitment to strengthening its ties with Kabul, notably in the areas of trade and bilateral transit.
This Wednesday, the South Asia Stability Institute University (SASSI) of Pakistan announced that it will host a regional dialogue between August 25 and 26, in which figures from the Afghan opposition in exile will participate, a meeting that has been described as “enormously imprudent” by some experts.
The meeting represents a counterpoint to the trilateral summit that the de facto Taliban government is hosting today in Kabul with its counterparts from China, Wang Yi, and Pakistan, Ishaq Dar.
