Pakistan and Afghanistan Sunday agreed to form a high-level committee to address border issues as National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf concluded a two-day visit to Kabul.
The development comes weeks after videos circulated on social media purportedly showing Taliban fighters uprooting a portion of the fence along the Pak-Afghan border.
During the visit, the NSA — who also heads the Afghanistan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Cell (AICC) — called on Afghanistan Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Salam Hanafi and Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to “discuss the current situation in Afghanistan and strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries”, an official statement said.
The 2010 Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) expired on February 11, but both sides have not yet reached a new agreement.
The statement went on to say that the objective of the visit was to discuss with the Afghan leadership the humanitarian requirements of the country and “Pakistan’s proposals for deepening economic engagement to overcome the current challenges Afghanistan is facing”.
“The visit yielded substantive outcomes in terms of forward movement on trade facilitation and social sector support,” said a statement issued by the government on Sunday.
Both sides also reiterated their commitment to the early completion of three major connectivity projects, CASA- 1000, TAPI, and the Trans-Afghan Rail project.
“Both sides agreed to establish a national level coordination mechanism for enhancing facilitation at border crossing points. They also agreed to initiate barter trade, modalities for which will be worked out immediately,” it said.
Special Envoy for Afghanistan Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq and senior officials from relevant ministries were part of the delegation.
Dr Moeed Yusuf also held delegation-level meetings with other relevant Afghan ministers and senior officials dealing with humanitarian and economic issues.
During the visit, Pakistan offered Afghanistan capacity building and training support in multiple sectors including health, education, banking, customs, railways and aviation among others.
Afghanistan and Pakistan emphasised their commitment to ensuring peace and stability in both countries.
Dr Yusuf thanked the interim Afghan government for their warm hospitality.
