National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf visited Afghanistan, where he discussed trade relations and other issues with top Afghan Taliban leaders, who assured him that Afghan soil would not be used against its neighbors, including Pakistan.
Yusuf, who led a high-level inter-ministerial delegation to Kabul on 29-30 January, held talks with the acting Deputy Prime Minister of Afghanistan Abdul Salam Hanafi and the acting Foreign Minister Mullah Amir Khan Muttaki.
According to the Dawn newspaper report, Hanafi assured the delegation led by Yousuf that Afghanistan’s soil would not be used against its neighbors, including Pakistan.
“The policy of the Islamic Emirate (of Afghanistan) is clear that we will not allow anyone to use Afghan soil against this [our] neighbors and other countries,” a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Kabul quoted Hanafi as saying, according to the paper.
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“We want similar action from others,” Hanafi said, hosting an inter-ministerial delegation in the Afghan capital.
Pakistan has not yet recognized the Taliban-led interim government of Afghanistan.
Yusuf – the third senior Pakistani official to visit Kabul since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan just before his visit, said Pakistan was “not entirely optimistic” of the Taliban government as the organized terrorist network continues to be a war-torn nation. working in Afghanistan and the soil of Afghanistan is still being used against their country.
The top security official made the remarks while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs here on Thursday, where he spoke about the threat posed to Pakistan by the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) presence in Afghanistan.
His remarks came in the wake of a rise in terrorist attacks in Pakistan since August after the Taliban came to power, defying Islamabad’s hopes that they would take drastic measures against their former comrades and expel them.
The Afghan Taliban persuaded Pakistan to negotiate with the TTP, which Islamabad did with the vain hope that the Afghan Taliban would use their influence to subdue the terrorist group.
The TTP announced a one-month ceasefire on 9 November and introduced strict conditions, including the enforcement of their Sharia brand and the release of all detained rebels. The government faced a backlash and refused to accede to the demands and the TTP refused to end the ceasefire.
The TTP, better known as the Pakistan Taliban, was established in 2007 as an umbrella group of several terrorist organizations. Its main objective is to enforce its strict brand of Islam throughout Pakistan.
The group, which is believed to be close to al-Qaeda, has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including the 2009 attack on the army headquarters, attacks on military bases, and the 2008 bombing of Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the NSA office here on Sunday said that during his visit to Afghanistan, Yousuf, who is also the head of the Afghanistan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Cell (AICC), discussed trade relations with the leaders of the host country. and discussed other issues.
“The purpose of the visit was to discuss with the Afghan leadership the country’s humanitarian needs and Pakistan’s proposals to deepen economic engagement to address the current challenges facing Afghanistan,” the statement said.
The statement reaffirmed Yusuf’s meetings with Hanafi and Acting Foreign Minister Muttaki, but said they discussed the current situation in Afghanistan and the strengthening of bilateral ties between the two countries.
He also held delegation level meetings with other concerned Afghan ministers and senior officials dealing with humanitarian and economic issues.
The visit yielded significant results in terms of moving forward on trade facilitation and social sector support as both sides agreed to establish a national level coordination mechanism to enhance facilitation at cross-border points.
They also agreed to start barter trade, the modalities for which would be worked out immediately.
During the two-day visit, Pakistan offered Afghanistan capacity building and training assistance in several areas, including health, education, banking, customs, railways and aviation.
Both sides reiterated their commitment to the early completion of three major connectivity projects, the Kasa-1000, the Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan India (TAPI) Pipeline and the Trans-Afghan Rail Project.
Afghanistan and Pakistan reaffirmed their commitment to ensure peace and stability in the two countries, the statement said.