- Kabul decides to upgrade the links after Islamabad’s decision.
- The elevation opens the way for improved bilateral cooperation: ministry.
- The move came after the Chinese FM organized a meeting between the nations.
Islamabad: One day after Pakistan improved its diplomatic ties with Afghanistan, Kabul also announced an increase in his diplomatic post in Islamabad to the status of full ambassador, the Afghan Foreign Minister said.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan hosts the decision of the government of Pakistan to modernize the level of its diplomatic mission in Kabul to that of an ambassador,” wrote the ministry on X.
“In reciprocity, the Islamic emirate of Afghanistan will increase the status of its mission in Islamabad from manager to the ambassador,” he added.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry has added that this increase in diplomatic representation between Afghanistan and Pakistan opens the way to increased bilateral cooperation in several areas.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have embassies in the capitals of each other, but they were led by indictments, not ambassadors.
China was the first country to accept an ambassador of the Taliban administration in Kabul, although it does not officially recognize its government. Several other states, including the United Arab Emirates (Water), have followed.
Pakistan and Afghanistan made the announcements a few days after the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi organized a meeting between Islamabad and the Afghan Taliban administration and said that the two nations “expressed a good desire to raise diplomatic relations”.
The neighbors agreed in principle to send ambassadors to countries with each other as soon as possible, said Yi after his interviews with the Minister of Affairs of Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi and FM Dar.
The two nations share a porous border extending over around 2,500 kilometers with several crossing points, which are important as a key element of regional trade and relations between people on both sides of the fence.
The question of terrorism remains a key problem for Pakistan, which has urged Afghanistan to prevent its soil from being used by groups such as TTP to carry out attacks within the territory of the old.
However, a few days earlier, an Afghan Taliban commander, Saeedullah Saeed, warned the terrorists of Fitna al-Khwarij against the fight against the Pakistani forces, leading attacks on behalf of Jihad.
Meanwhile, Islamabad and Beijing have also agreed to extend the Chinese-Pakistani Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan, reaffirming their commitment to improve regional connectivity and economic cooperation.
Tensions seemed to be relieved after a rare meeting between Muttaqi and Dar in Kabul last month, where the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban was expressed by the deportation of tens of thousands of Afghans from Pakistan.
During the meeting, the two parties agreed to continue dialogue in a constructive and positive atmosphere to respond to bilateral concerns, in particular security, trade, cooperation in transit and wider links.
