KABUL/ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is expected to visit Pakistan, Sputnik reported citing a source.
“The date has not been determined yet, but Muttaqi has been invited and he accepted the invitation,” the Russian state-owned news agency said, without specifying the upcoming visit’s agenda.
Reportedly, Muttaqi, a senior member of the Taliban movement, was extended the invitation by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi who visited Kabul in October for the first time since the Taliban victory in August.
There, Qureshi said Pakistan was determined to help Afghanistan avoid a collapse of its economy and agreed to measures to ease some border restrictions and facilitate trade, including on-arrival visas for business travellers from that nation.
A Foreign Office statement issued ahead of that trip said Qureshi would focus in his talks with Muttaqi and other Taliban leaders “on ways and means to deepen cooperation in diverse areas”.
This is the first visit of a minister from the interim government in Kabul after the group took over the reins of the government in August. The report also said that Pakistan and Afghanistan are in constant touch to finalise details of the visit.
People familiar with the developments told the agency Muttaqi’s visit is part of the ongoing engagements by Islamabad with Kabul.
Pakistan has clarified the visit should not be seen as an act of formal recognition of the Taliban government, however.
Pakistan has provided essential humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan in recent months of insecurity in the form of food and medicines.
During his visit, Qureshi promised to provide humanitarian aid worth $280 million to Afghanistan to help its new rulers overcome a severe humanitarian crisis in the country.
Other measures to support the government on Islamabad’s part also include resumption of flights with Afghanistan and boosting bilateral trade, according to Sputnik.
Also in October, the Taliban government sent an envoy to run the Afghanistan embassy in Islamabad.
Mohammad Shokaib was appointed first secretary or charge d’affaires at the embassy, which has not had an ambassador in place since the previous Western-backed government withdrew its envoy in July.
As Pakistan does not officially recognise the new Taliban government, Shokaib does not have the formal title of ambassador but is in charge of the mission.
