ISLAMABAD/LANDIKOTAL: Pakistan and Afghanistan on Saturday committed to once again upgrade and strengthen diplomatic engagement and together harness their full potential for mutual benefit of the people of both countries.
“Today I met with Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Acting Commerce Minister of Afghanistan Nooruddin Azizi in Kabul, and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to continued engagement and mutually beneficial ties with Afghanistan. Both sides agreed to enhance high-level engagements and dialogue to further consolidate bilateral relations,” said Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq Khan.
The visit of Ambassador Sadiq was announced by the Foreign Office which said that its envoy had been directed by Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar “to undertake an official visit to Afghanistan from 21-23 March 2025 to discuss Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations”.
Sadiq’s visit to Kabul comes on the heels of a US delegation which just left Afghanistan, seeing Zalmay Khalilzad, former US Special Representative for Afghanistan, making the first official contact by the Trump administration.
Pakistan’s envoy’s visit also coincides with the Torkham border re-opening after nearly a month, with the pedestrian walkway opening on Saturday.
“In my meeting with Acting Commerce Minister of Afghanistan Nooruddin Azizi in Kabul, today we discussed bilateral trade and economic relations as well as cooperation in areas of transit and connectivity. I underlined Pakistan’s commitment to mutually beneficial ties with Afghanistan. The two sides agreed to harness full potential of regional trade and connectivity for the mutual benefit of both countries,” Sadiq tweeted.
The envoy last visited Kabul on December 24, 2024 at the time when Pakistan carried out a drone strike against TTP camps inside Afghanistan as retaliation for terrorist attacks on Waziristan. Sadiq was caught unaware but completed his diplomatic schedule.
Later, the Foreign Office of Afghanistan, commenting on the Sadiq Khan and Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi meeting, said that this was “centred on strengthening bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, upgrading diplomatic engagement, enhancing trade and transit cooperation, and addressing issues concerning the people of both nations”.
While the issue of the BLA terrorist attack on the Jaffar Express was bound to come up during the Sadiq-Muttaqi talks, no mention was made publicly. Kabul had denied that it had any hand in the terrorist attack when Pakistan said that calls made during the attack on Jaffar Express were traced back to Balochistan.
“Afghanistan has reaffirmed its commitment to fostering positive relations with Pakistan, FM Muttaqi stressed on leveraging the commonalities between two nations in political, economic, trade and transit disciplines,” said the Foreign Ministry of Afghanistan. It pointed to issues pertinent to trade and transit between the two countries and added that FM Muttaqi pointed to trade and transit exchanges which could be further enhanced through greater government coordination, facilitating people-to-people movement, and resolving the existing challenges. Conveying the greetings and best wishes of Pakistan’s foreign minister, Sadiq Khan reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening positive relations with Afghanistan and acknowledged Afghanistan’s current security situation as advantageous for Pakistan and the broader region.
The ambassador highlighted that the purpose of his visit is, while addressing the mutual challenges, to enhance political, economic, trade, and transit cooperation between the two nations, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan.
Foreign Minister Muttaqi also stressed the need for the gradual and dignified return of Afghan refugees to Afghanistan while Ambassador Sadiq pledged that Pakistan would take further steps to facilitate visas and trade for the Afghan people. He also stated that practical measures would be taken to address challenges related to trade and transit with Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Khorasan Diary, a “non-partisan, journalists-run platform” tweeted, “Pakistan and Afghanistan are restructuring their diplomatic ties on multiple fronts, with high-level engagements planned to address key bilateral issues, official sources confirmed. The move comes as both nations seek to strengthen cooperation on trade, transit, border management and the refugee situation.”
It further added that according to officials, a full-year schedule of high-level delegation visits is being finalised, including a planned visit by the Pakistani foreign minister to Kabul in the coming months. “We do not want to leave any communication gap between both countries. Ministers from both sides will visit each other regularly, and there is also a schedule for online meetings,” an official told the Khorasan Diary.
Additionally, efforts are underway to reschedule the long-pending meeting of the Joint Coordination Commission (JCC), which last convened on January 4, 2024. The resumption of JCC meetings is seen as a crucial step toward institutionalising bilateral cooperation, it said.
Meanwhile, the Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan was reopened for travelers holding valid passports and visas after remaining closed for 29 days, officials said on Saturday.
An additional director of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) told The News that the passenger-checking system had been repaired, allowing limited cross-border movement. He said the reopening had provided much-needed relief to thousands of stranded passengers on both sides of the border.
He said Afghan passengers holding Proof of Registration cards and Afghan Citizen Cards were not allowed to cross the border on Saturday.
He said the Individual Voluntary Arrangement System (IVAS), which was managed by the security forces, was also damaged during the recent gunfire from the Afghan side. He added that the restoration of the IVAS system was necessary for allowing travelers holding Proof of Registration cards, Afghan Citizen Cards and Afghan Tazkira to cross the border.
The official said the number of travelers could be reduced to a few hundred due to the faulty IVAS system. According to him, it could take up to a week to repair the system and fully resume operations for these categories of travelers.
The border closure, which started on February 21, caused major disruptions for thousands of passengers, transporters and traders.
With the resumption of controlled movement, Pakistani officials hope to gradually return to normal cross-border operations in the coming days. Officials said that on normal days, around 4,000 people cross the Torkham border daily with their valid travel documents.
The FIA additional director said that truckers and their crew members were excluded from it. However, he added, due to the ongoing repair work, Ramazan and other logistical hurdles, fewer than 3,000 passengers would be able to cross on the first day after reopening.
The 29-day closure resulted in significant economic losses, particularly for traders and transporters. Hundreds of trucks loaded with perishable goods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, were left stranded on both sides, leading to financial setbacks for exporters. Many businesses in Landikotal and other border areas also suffered due to the prolonged halt in trade activities.
Local labourers and daily wage workers, who rely on cross-border trade for their livelihoods, faced severe hardships during the closure. The suspension of commercial activities affected not only traders but also transporters, Customs agents and small business owners operating in the border region.
Despite the reopening, officials remained cautious about the situation. The FIA and other authorities closely monitor the movement of travelers to ensure security and smooth processing at the border. Any further disruptions could lead to additional delays in the full resumption of travel and trade. Pakistani officials have been in contact with their Afghan counterparts to address security concerns and prevent similar incidents in the future. Authorities on both sides were working to ensure that cross-border movement continued without further interruption. With the gradual restoration of operations, traders, travelers and businesses in the region hope for stability and normalcy. However, the situation remains uncertain until the IVAS system is fully repaired and the border crossing is reopened for all categories of travelers.