- Kabul decides to upgrade ties after Islamabad’s movement.
- Height paves the way for improved bilateral cooperation: Ministry.
- Move came after the Chinese FM hosted a meeting between nations.
Islamabad: One day after Pakistan upgraded his diplomatic ties with Afghanistan, Kabul also announced to raise his diplomatic position in Islamabad to full ambassador status, the Afghan foreign minister said.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan welcomes Pakistan’s government’s decision to the government of Pakistan to upgrade the level of his diplomatic mission in Kabul to it for an ambassador,” the ministry wrote at X.
“In reciprocity, the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan raises the status of his mission in Islamabad from Chargé d’Affaires to ambassador,” it added.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry added that this height of diplomatic representation between Afghanistan and Pakistan paves the way for improved bilateral cooperation in several domains.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have embassies in each other’s capitals, but they were led by prosecutor d’Affaires, not ambassadors.
China was the first country to accept an ambassador from the Taliban-driven administration in Kabul, although it does not formally recognize its government. Several other states, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), followed.
Pakistan and Afghanistan published the messages days after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted a meeting between Islamabad and the Afghan Taliban administration and said the two nations “expressed a clear willingness to raise diplomatic relations”.
The neighbors in principle agreed to send ambassadors to each other’s countries as soon as possible, Yi said after his conversations with Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and FM Dar.
The two nations share a porous border spanning 2,500 kilometers with several crossings that are important as a key element in regional trade and relationship between the population on both sides of the fence.
The question of terrorism is still an important question for Pakistan, who has called on Afghanistan to prevent its land from being used by groups such as TTP to carry out attacks inside the former territory.
However, a Commander of the Afghan Taliban, Saeedullah Saeed, warned terrorists about Fitna al-Khwarij against fighting the Pakistan forces and carrying out attacks in Jihad’s name.
Meanwhile, Islamabad and Beijing also agreed to expand the China-Pakistanic Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan, confirming their obligation to improve regional connectivity and financial cooperation.
Tensions seemed to facilitate a rare meeting between Muttaqi and Dar in Kabul last month, with Taliban’s acting Foreign Minister expressing concern about the deportation of tens of thousands of Afghans from Pakistan.
During the meeting, both sides agreed to continue the dialogue in a constructive and positive atmosphere to tackle bilateral concerns, including security, trade, transit cooperation and wider ties.
