After China, Pakistan set to appoint envoy to Kabul

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is set to appoint its ambassador to Afghanistan soon and with this it would be second country after China that will have its ambassador in Kabul without according formal recognition to the Taliban administration that captured the power in August 2021 after the US-led Nato forces vacated the country.

Since then, no country has officially given recognition to Taliban administration on account of various reasons. Foreign Minister Syed Jalil Abbas Jilani told ‘The News’ on Monday that the incumbent head of mission in Kabul, Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani, who had earlier served in Washington, New Delhi, Dhaka, Berlin and Jeddah in various diplomatic capacities, would be elevated soon following his promotion and would be the first ambassador for Taliban dispensation in Kabul from Pakistan.

He was of the view that Nizamani has substantial knowledge of the region. The foreign minister said that Pakistan and China have discussed about the expansion of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in first instance to Afghanistan, adding that the presence of Chinese ambassador in Kabul is a step in this direction.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Russia, Shafqat Ali Khan, has been appointed as additional foreign secretary for Europe. Shafqat Ali Khan, who served in Kremlin for four years, has vast experience of different important diplomatic postings as he was the first ambassador of the country who hails from Gilgit-Baltistan.