Pakistan, Afghan officials discuss issues in bilateral ties

Pakistan and Afghanistan officials discuss strained ties over militancy, trade, refugees, aiming to strengthen bilateral relations.

Officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan held talks in Kabul to improve ties strained due to differences over handling of militancy, transit trade, refugees and other bilateral issues, it emerged on Sunday (March 23, 2025).

According to the Foreign Office, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq, is visiting Afghanistan from March 21-23 at the direction of Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar “to discuss Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations”.

Mr. Sadiq held talks with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. The two sides emphasised the importance of holding joint meetings and exchanging delegations to resolve outstanding issues, according to a statement from the Afghan Foreign Ministry.

“In this meeting, bilateral relations, political and economic cooperation, transit, and people-to-people exchanges between Afghanistan and Pakistan were discussed,” the statement said.

It further stated that Mr. Muttaqi emphasised that obstacles to transit routes and trade are not in the interest of either side and should not be linked to other disputes. Mr. Sadiq in response assured that Pakistan would take practical steps to address these concerns.

Mr. Sadiq in a post on X said that both countries had agreed to enhance high-level engagements and dialogue to strengthen bilateral relations. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to ongoing engagement and mutually beneficial ties with Afghanistan.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share a history of uneasy ties. It was hoped that the situation would improve following the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in 2021, who had enjoyed Pakistan’s support in their armed struggle. However, the optimism was short-lived and ties deteriorated sooner than expected due to allegations of Pakistan that the Afghan Taliban were not cooperating to control the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants who allegedly operate from Afghanistan to carry out militancy inside Pakistan.