Pak FM, ISI chief meet Taliban leaders in Kabul during unannounced visit
Islamabad/Kabul: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi travelled to Kabul on Thursday along with spy agency ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed on an unannounced visit to meet the Taliban leadership and vowed to provide humanitarian assistance worth Rs 500 crore to save the Afghan people from an economic crisis.
Qureshi met interim Afghanistan Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund and underlined that Pakistan wanted lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has yet to recognise Afghanistan's interim government led by Taliban. The interim government of the Taliban has failed to win international recognition.
Qureshi said Pakistan was determined to help the Afghan people to save them from an economic crisis.
He said Pakistan would provide humanitarian assistance worth Rs 500 crore to Afghanistan and would also allow duty free import of fresh fruits and vegetables from Afghanistan to facilitate bilateral trade.
The United Nations has warned last month that the poverty rate in Afghanistan was soaring and public services were close to collapse.
Some 40 per cent of the country's GDP - national output - comes from aid, according to the World Bank. The US also froze some USD 10 billion of the country's central bank assets after the Taliban captured Kabul in August.
Speaking to the media after the meetings, Qureshi said that he had a detailed and result-oriented discussion with the Taliban leadership, Dawn newspaper reported.
Qureshi was visiting Afghanistan for the first time after the Taliban took over in mid-August. He is the third foreign minister after those of Qatar and Uzbekistan to visit since the Taliban seized power.
He said Pakistan, in collaboration with Afghanistan's neighbours, was committed to playing a constructive role for peace and stability in the region.
The Pakistani delegation also held talks with Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad after returning from his day-long visit to Kabul, Qureshi said the border crossings between the two countries will remain open 24/7 for trade and a special lane will be established for vehicles carrying perishable goods.
He said Afghan businessmen can get visas on arrival, while the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul has been authorized to issue five-year visas for multiple entries.
To a question about resumption of flights with Afghanistan, he said the two sides were in talks and a decision would be made soon.
He said the Afghan leadership has also assured Islamabad that it will not allow anyone, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Baloch Liberation, to use Afghan soil against Pakistan.
The Minister said the interim government in Afghanistan has assured Pakistan that it will support projects like CASA-1000, TAPI and Trans-Afghan railway projects.
He said Pakistan was in favour of including Afghan officials in various regional level talks as it would be easier to convey to the Afghan leadership about the expectations of the international community from them.
He said the Afghan leadership was also informed about the concerns of the neighbouring countries regarding militancy as everyone including Russia, China, Iran and even Pakistan have some reservations.
To a question about the all-inclusive government, Qureshi said progress was being made since the interim government assumed power in Kabul. He also shared that the Afghan interim premier during talks with the Pakistan delegation said that even in democracies those winning elections were not asked to share power with Opposition parties.
On the issue of refugees, he said that it was not time to press Afghanistan to take back refugees as the new Afghanistan leadership was facing financial problems as their more than USD 9 billion were frozen after the fall of the previous government.
He said members of his delegation were also meeting with Afghan representatives from different ministries. Afghan delegation will come to Islamabad in the next few days so that we can take these talks forward and settle matters," he added.
Qureshi's visit took place after the recent meeting of officials from China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Russia in Moscow and ahead of an upcoming meeting of foreign ministers of neighbours of Afghanistan plus Russia in Tehran next week.
On September 4, Lt Gen Hameed, in a surprise move, dashed to Kabul as the Taliban struggled to finalise and install an inclusive government in Afghanistan. Three days after his visit, the Taliban announced an interim government.
It is believed that Pakistan enjoys a clout over the Taliban and played a key role in their peace talks with the US that resulted in the Doha agreement of 2020.
Pakistan was often accused by the previous Afghanistan government led by President Ashraf Ghani of giving the Taliban military aid.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, two weeks before the US' complete troop withdrawal on August 31 after a costly two-decade war.
