ISLAMABAD: Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday described the improvement of ties with Pakistan as a “very positive development in bilateral relations”, Dawn.com reported.
He was speaking to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar over the phone.
Both leaders also reviewed implementation of decisions taken during Dar’s visit to Kabul in April and vowed to continue working together to establish mutual trust between the two nations, according to the Foreign Office.
Pakistan and Afghanistan had earlier agreed to upgrade their diplomatic relations by exchanging envoys — a key step towards normalising ties after years of strained relations between Islamabad and the Taliban administration in Kabul.
Russia officially okays Afghanistan’s nomination for Moscow envoy
On Friday, Pakistan announced its elevation of diplomatic representation in Afghanistan from Charge d’Affaires to ambassador level, as bilateral ties “move on a positive trajectory”.
The Afghan foreign ministry in a statement said Muttaqi spoke to Dar over the phone and discussed upgrading diplomatic relations. “Muttaqi called it a positive step and expressed hope that the remaining stages would be completed soon,” it said.
“Both sides expressed that upgrading the level of diplomatic relations would pave the way for expanding cooperation in many areas,” the Afghan foreign ministry added.
The FO added that both nations agreed to “work closely” to swiftly finalise a framework agreement for the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Line Project for regional connectivity.
Experts believe that the conversation between Dar and Muttaqi indicates that the two sides remain focused on increasing convergence and cooperation in their bilateral interactions.
“After a period of unprecedented friction in the relations for the past three years, the actions by both sides to upgrade diplomatic representation, releasing held goods of Afghan companies at Pakistani ports, addressing impediments in trade and transit and extension of CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) to Afghanistan are positive and forward-looking measures,” Pakistan’s former ambassador to Afghanistan, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, told Dawn.com.
He added that these decisions should be implemented to “strengthen bilateral relations and make progress for achieving regional connectivity with Central Asia and beyond”.
China has played a key role in the normalisation of relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Both nations made the announcements days after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated in a statement “to strengthen exchanges and diplomatic contacts late last month.
“Afghanistan and Pakistan expressed a clear willingness to elevate diplomatic relations and agreed in principle to exchange ambassadors as soon as possible,” he said after he hosted Dar and Muttaqi at an informal trilateral meeting in Beijing.
Pakistan-Afghanistan ties have been marred by deep mistrust, cross-border attacks, and sharp disagreements over the presence of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants operating from Afghan territory.
Russia officially accepts ambassador
Separately, Russia officially accepted Afghanistan’s nomination of an ambassador to Moscow, the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday, as economic and political ties grow between the two sanction-hit nations.
Russia in April suspended its ban on the Taliban, which it had designated for more than two decades as a terrorist organisation, in a move that paved the way for Moscow to normalise ties with the leadership of Afghanistan.
“We hope this new phase will allow both countries to expand cooperation in various fields,” said Muttaqi in a statement.
Diplomats say formally presenting ambassadorial credentials to a foreign head of state signals a step towards recognition.
Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2025