Kabul | Pakistan

The Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday announced that a temporary ceasefire has been agreed with Afghanistan for the next 48 hours amid recent border hostilities between the two countries. “A temporary ceasefire has been decided between the Pakistani government and the Afghan Taliban regime, with the mutual consent of both parties, for the next 48 hours from 6pm today, at the request of the Taliban.” “During this period, both sides will make sincere efforts to find a positive solution to this complex but solvable issue through constructive dialogue,” the FO said. Taliban regime spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said on X that Afghan forces were instructed to respect the ceasefire, “unless any aggression takes place”. Strikes on Kabul, Kandahar Earlier, state broadcaster PTV News reported that the Pakistan armed forces conducted “precision strikes” in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and capital Kabul. A statement uploaded on X, quoting security sources, said: “Pakistan Army’s retaliatory action against Afghan Talib...

Defence minister says Islamabad aims for peaceful, dignified ties with Kabul

Amid rising speculations over an explosion reported in the Afghan capital a day earlier, the interim Taliban government on Friday accused Pakistan of “violating Kabul’s sovereign territory”. “Pakistan violated Afghanistan’s airspace, bombing a civilian market in the Marghi area of Paktika near the Durand Line and also violating Kabul’s sovereign territory,” the Afghan Defence Ministry said in a post on social media. For its part, Pakistan remained tight-lipped on the issue, with the the military spokesperson neither confirming nor denying the strikes when questioned about them at a press conference earlier in the day. The Foreign Office, meanwhile, did not respond to a request for comment till the publication of this report. On Thursday evening, residents in the border town of Marghi reported that a market selling second-hand weapons had been bombed. Around the same time, Afghan government spokesman Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabeehullah Mujahid confirmed on X that an explosion “was heard in the city of Kabu...

India will reopen its embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul that was shut four years ago, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Friday. India had closed its embassy in Kabul after the Taliban seized power following the withdrawal of US-led Nato forces in 2021, but opened a small mission a year later to facilitate trade, medical support, and humanitarian aid. About a dozen countries including China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Turkiye have embassies operating in Kabul, although Russia is the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban administration. New Delhi’s announcement came as Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi began talks with Jaishankar on what is the first visit to India by a Taliban leader since 2021. “India is fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan,” Jaishankar told Muttaqi in his opening remarks. “Closer cooperation between us contributes to your national development, as well as regional stability and resilien...

Afghan authorities reported an explosion in the Afghan capital of Kabul late on Thursday night. Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabeehullah Mujahid said in a post on X: “The sound of an explosion was heard in the city of Kabul. However, no one should worry, it is all well and good, the investigation of the incident is underway, no report of any damage has been given so far.” Sources reported a Land Cruiser vehicle was apparently hit in the area of Abdul Haq Square in Kabul. Afghan media outlet Tolo News reported that, according to locals, the Abdul Haq intersection was closed, resulting in widespread traffic congestion in the area. AFP journalists reported that two explosions were heard in the capital. The two blasts occurred around 9:50pm local time (10:20 PKT). In the streets of the Afghan capital, numerous security forces were alerted and were searching cars, an AFP journalist saw. Mobile telephone service was down in several neighborhoods.

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday told a US delegation in Kabul that American citizen Amir Amiri had been released from prison, the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement. United States President Donald Trump’s special envoy for hostage response, Adam Boehler, welcomed the decision to release the American citizen and called it a good moment for him, the statement read. Muttaqi was quoted as saying, “The Afghan government does not view the issues of its citizens from a political angle and makes it clear that ways can be found to resolve the issues through diplomacy.” He added that the step taken by his government to release the American citizen was a positive development and thanked the government of Qatar for its role in facilitating the release of the prisoner. According to the statement, Boehler described the previous round of talks between Kabul and Washington as “constructive” and expressed hope that talks on the remaining issues would continue. This was the second visit to Kabul by...

Trade with Central Asia, Kabul surges to $2.4b

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday confirmed that Afghanistan issued a demarche to Islamabad’s ambassador in Kabul, after they alleged that Pakistan carried out drone strikes across the border. At least three people were killed and seven wounded in two separate incidents in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar and Khost provinces, which Afghan authorities claimed were strikes carried out by Pakistan. There was no official word from Islamabad, and Afghan authorities did not provide any evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in the incidents. Fielding questions after a press briefing in Islamabad today, Dar said that he had just returned from travelling and was still “going through the system”. However, he added that had received a copy of the letter to Pakistan’s ambassador but did not elaborate on why it was issued. “I’m still going through the system, but they handed our ambassador a letter, which is called a demarche,” the foreign minister said. “This needs investigation, to look into the situati...

KABUL: At least three people were killed and seven wounded in two separate incidents in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar and Khost provinces, which Afghan authorities claimed were strikes carried out by Pakistan. There was no official word from Islamabad, and Afghan authorities did not provide any evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in the incident, either. Islamabad has repeatedly warned Kabul to prevent its soil from being used to stage attacks in Pakistan, and that it is fully capable of targeting terrorists who carry out such attacks. Quoting Afghan authorities, the Reuters news agency reported on Thursday that three children were killed and several others wounded when ‘drones’ hit the home of one Haji Naeem Khan in Khost’s Spera district, near the border with North Waziristan. AFP photographs from Spera showed people standing outside a badly damaged home in the Lahori Village. Meanwhile, Afghan officials claimed that four sons and two wives of a man named Shahsawar were among those injured when his house was destr...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has arrived in Kabul for the 6th Trilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, China and Afghanistan.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar departed for Kabul on Wednesday to participate in the 6th Trilateral Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said Pakistan received “recent assurances” from Afghan authorities that the neighbouring country’s soil would not be used for terrorism — a key issue of contention between Islamabad and Kabul. Both countries have witnessed an improvement in bilateral relations after taking steps to improve ties, such as the revival of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) and upgrading diplomatic ranks. Dar visited Kabul earlier this month, where an agreement was signed for the Pakistan, Uzbek­istan and Afghanistan railway project to boost regional connectivity. According to a Foreign Office (FO) statement issued on Saturday, Dar engaged with the Pakistani-American community at the Pakistan Consulate in New York, where he “shared Pakistan’s expectation that Afghan soil would not be used for terrorism, noting recent assurances received from Afghan authorities in that regard”. The foreign minister also highlighted the “country’s outreach to Afghanistan with a view to enh...

ISLAMABAD - Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi yesterday discussed counterterrorism efforts in a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Sirajuddin Haqqani in Kabul.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday discussed counterterrorism efforts in a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Sirajuddin Haqqani in Kabul. The visit comes after a series of steps between both nations to improve ties, such as the revival of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) and the upgrading of each country’s diplomats from the rank of chargé d’affaires to ambassador. Both countries also held the inaugural round of the Additional Secretary-Level Mechanism talks earlier in the month. “Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi holds an important meeting with his Afghan counterpart Sirajuddin Haqqani,” the Interior Ministry said in a post on X. Naqvi was warmly welcomed by interim Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani upon arrival at the Afghan Ministry of Interior, the post said. “Discussion on bilateral relations, particularly counter-terrorism, infiltration, and the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban [Pakistan],” took place, according to the interior ministry. Effective management of the Pak-Afghan border,...

Pakistan’s Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Kabul on Sunday for a one-day official visit, aiming to hold crucial talks with Afghan authorities on key bilateral issues, particularly border management, security cooperation, and the repatriation of Afghan nationals from Pakistan.

Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan signed the Framework Agreement on the Joint Feasibility Study for the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Project in Kabul on Thursday. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar made the announcement in a post on X from Kabul, where he arrived earlier today on a day-long visit for the signing. “I congratulate the people and governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan on the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Joint Feasibility Study for the Naibabad–Kharlachi rail link under the UAP Railway Corridor. “I also thank the foreign ministers of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan for their support and commitment for timely signing of the agreement. We remained closely engaged throughout the negotiation process to finalise the details.” He hailed the UAP Railway Corridor as a major milestone in advancing regional connectivity and economic integration that would connect Central Asian countries to Pakistani seaports through Afghanistan. Dar said the signi...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will travel to Kabul on a day-long visit for the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Joint Feasibility Study of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Project, the Foreign Office announced on Thursday.

Hours after Pakistan decided to enhance ties with Afghanistan yesterday, the Afghan foreign ministry welcomed the decision and announced upgrading the status of its chargé d’affaires in Islamabad to ambassador. Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to upgrade their diplomatic relations by exchanging envoys earlier this month — a key step towards normalising ties after years of strained relations due to terrorism concerns repeatedly voiced by Islamabad. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan welcomes the decision of the Government of Pakistan to upgrade the level of its diplomatic mission in Kabul to that of an ambassador,” the Afghan foreign ministry said on its X account late on Friday. “In reciprocity, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will elevate the status of its mission in Islamabad from chargé d’affaires to ambassador,” the ministry added. Zakir Jalaly, an Afghan foreign ministry official, wrote on X that the current chargé d’affaires in Islamabad, Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb, will ...

Pakistan has decided to upgrade its diplomatic presence in Kabul by appointing an ambassador, replacing the current chargé d’affaires, in a move aimed at restoring full bilateral relations with Afghanistan.

Afghanistan officials on Sunday expressed their concern that the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India would have a “direct negative impact” on Kabul and the region. After an attack on April 22 in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam killed 26 people, India, without investigation or evidence, implied “cross-border linkages” of the att­a­­­c­kers. Pakistan has firmly rejected the claim and called for a neutral probe. In response to India’s aggressive moves against the country, Pakistan had announced retaliatory measures that have included halting all border trade, closing its airspace and ports to Indian carriers and expelling Indian diplomats. Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Hekmatullah Zaland, the deputy director of the Afghan foreign ministry’s Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS), said: “Since Pakistan and India are located in our neighbourhood, if this tension spreads, it will have a direct negative impact on the region and Afghanistan.” The CSS deputy director added, “We are currently interacting wit...