DOHA: Leaders of the Afghanistan interim government held a meeting with Pakistani officials in Doha in what was seen as an effort to ease tension, following the announcement of a fresh operation against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which security officials insist operate from Afghan soil, Dawn.com reported.

Relations between both neighbouring countries have lately become strained, largely because of the TTP but also due to frequent border skirmishes. Last week, the Afghan defence ministry’s spokesman angrily reacted to Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s remarks after he said Islamabad could hit TTP hideouts inside Afghanistan.

In an apparent move to improve relations between Kabul and Islamabad, the Pakistani mission in Qatar hosted a dinner for the Afghan delegation on the sidelines of the Doha-III conference to discuss bilateral issues.

Zabihullah Mujahid, leader of the Taliban delegation at the Doha conference, described his meeting with Pakistani diplomats as “good” and expressed the hope for developing “positive relations” with Pakistan.

Zabihullah expresses hope for ‘good, positive ties’ between the neighbours

“We had a good meeting with the special representative of Pakistan, Asif Durrani, and the ambassador and consuls of the country in Qatar,” Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on the X platform on Tuesday. “I am grateful for their hospitality and hope for good and positive relations for both countries.”

On his part, Mr Durrani said both sides discussed the “Doha-III, bilateral and regional issues” during the meeting.

Muhemmed Aejaz, Pakistan’s ambassador in Qatar who hosted the meeting at his residence, said: “Both [sides] remain neighbours and brothers and have a lot in common, inclu­ding a strong desire for regional peace and security.”

Earlier during his speech at the opening session of the Doha-III conference on June 30, Mr Durrani raised the issue of militancy and urged the Afghan interim government to take action against the TTP and other groups.

Pakistani and Taliban officials also had another interaction in Doha at a quadrilateral meeting along with Uzbekistan and Qatar officials.

“On the sidelines of Doha-III, a quadrilateral meeting between Pak­istan, Afghanistan, Uzbek­istan, and Qatar reviewed the Trans-Afghan Railway project to connect Uzbek­istan and Pakistan via Afghanistan. The project will effectively connect South and Central Asia,” Mr Dur­rani wrote on X.

Mujahid, who attended the quadrilateral meeting, said, “All sides called for early start and completion of the Trans-Afghan Railway project.”

At the meeting, Mr Durrani called for enhanced international engagement with the Afghan regime and unfreezing Afghan assets. Pakistan also highlighted the issue of refugees and called for creating a conducive environment in Afghanistan for their repatriation. The meeting was told 700,000 more Afghans had arrived in Pakistan since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2024