Pakistan, Afghan Taliban agree to lower tensions

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban-appointed government have agreed to boost trade and lower tensions along their border amid a surge in militant attacks on security forces, officials said on Monday.

Pakistan’s top diplomat Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi struck the deal in the capital Islamabad on Sunday, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said. The agreement is designed to improve bilateral trade, combat terrorism and bolster bilateral relations.

Earlier, Bhutto Zardari and Muttaqi also held talks with China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang, a departure from recent years when such dialogue had been on hold, according to analysts, who say Beijing is expanding its influence in the region.

In Pakistan, Beijing is bankrolling the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a sprawling package that includes road and power-plant construction projects and boosting agriculture production.

The package is considered a lifeline for the South Asian nation, which is currently facing one of its worst economic crises amid stalled talks on a bailout with the International Monetary Fund.

CPEC, also known as the One Road Project, is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a global endeavor aimed at reconstituting the ancient Silk Road and linking China to all corners of Asia.

Qin arrived in Islamabad last Friday and met with President Arif Alvi, Bhutto Zardari and Pakistani military chief Gen. Asim Munir. During these meetings, he was assured that Pakistan would boost security for all Chinese who are working on multibillion-dollar projects in the country.

China has been demanding more security from Pakistan for its citizens living and working in the Islamic nation since 2021, when a suicide bomber killed nine Chinese and four Pakistanis in an attack in the country’s volatile northwest.

According to a Foreign Ministry statement, Bhutto Zardari and Muttaqi on Sunday “held a candid and in-depth exchange on key issues of mutual concern, including peace and security, as well as trade and connectivity.” The two sides “reaffirmed their desire to pursue continuous and practical engagement,” it said.

The Afghan embassy said on Twitter on Monday morning that during “the meeting, matters of mutual interest, Afghan-Pak political, economic, and transit relations, as well as challenges of Afghan refugees in Pakistan have been discussed,” it said on Twitter on Monday morning.

Pakistan’s military said Muttaqi also met with Munir to discuss “issues of mutual interest, including aspects related to regional security, border management, and formalization of bilateral security mechanisms for improvement in the current security environment.”

Munir sought enhanced cooperation to “effectively tackle the common challenges of terrorism and extremism,” it added.

Relations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban have seesawed in the past year.

In February, the two sides shut the main Afghan-Pakistan border crossing at Torkham, stranding people and trucks carrying food and essential items. After a Pakistani delegation traveled to the Afghan capital Kabul for talks on the crisis, the border was reopened after a week and Muttaqi’s visit to Islamabad was planned.

Afghanistan’s Taliban have been shunned by most of the international community for harsh and restrictive measures they have imposed since retaking power in August 2021, when the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops were in the final weeks of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war. The Afghan Taliban has banned girls from education beyond the sixth grade and barred women from most jobs and public life.

Pakistan has lately expressed concern over a surge of deadly attacks across the country by the Pakistani Taliban, an independent militant group that is allied with and sheltered by its Afghan counterpart.