Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visits Kabul on Thursday to sign a trilateral agreement on a common feasibility study for Uzbekistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan (UAP) Railway project.
Dar is accompanied by the federal railway minister Muhammad Hanif Abbasi, the special assistant to the Prime Minister at Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq, and the secretary of the Ministry of Railways Syed Mazhar Ali Shah, according to a statement from the Foreign Office.
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Curtain Raiser: Deputy Prime Minister/ Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar visits Afghanistan for signing a framework agreement on joint feasibility study of UAP Railway Project
🔗⬇ pic.twitter.com/lgrfpbzeq1– Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficepk) July 17, 2025
The UAP Railway initiative aims to connect Uzbekistan with Pakistani lake ports via Afghanistan, creating a transit corridor that could transform regional trade and elaborate on the link between Central and South Asia.
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The signing of the joint feasibility study agreement marks an important milestone in the development of the project and reflects Pakistan’s declared commitment to regional infrastructure and financial cooperation.
During his one-day visit, DAR is also scheduled to meet Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and will urge the country’s acting prime minister. Negotiations are expected to cover bilateral relations, regional connection and broader international development.
Earlier in a phone call last month, Dar and Muttaqi confirmed their commitment to the UAP Railway project and described it as the key to unlocking regional connection. They also agreed to accelerate the work on the project’s framework agreement.
Muttaqi welcomed Pakistan’s steps to raise diplomatic relations with Kabul and said that Afghanistan would retaliate and called the decision a “positive development” for rebuilding bilateral trust.
