Pakistan’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Muhammad Sadiq, informed the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Monday that relations with Afghanistan were expected to improve, as high-level discussions were being planned to ease recent tensions between the two neighbouring countries.
Sadiq, who visited Kabul last month, briefed the committee during a closed-door session chaired by Senator Irfan Siddiqui. “A candid and constructive discussion on regional developments and the path ahead for Pakistan-Afghanistan relations was a great learning experience,” he later stated in a post on X.
The envoy also assured the committee that Pakistan was taking up the issue of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) strongly with Afghan authorities.
The meeting came on the same day that Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met Pakistan’s Chargé d’Affaires Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani in Kabul. During the meeting, Muttaqi expressed regret over the “forced deportation of Afghan refugees and the inappropriate treatment by certain quarters,” calling such actions provocative and detrimental to bilateral ties.
Pakistan began deporting undocumented Afghans in October 2023, and according to official data, over 45,000 Afghans returned in the first two weeks of April alone, following intensified enforcement measures.
Senator Irfan Siddiqui told reporters after the in-camera session that renewed dialogue with Afghanistan would be a step in the right direction.
Meanwhile, in a separate meeting in Islamabad on Monday, UAE’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Saif Mohammed Al Ketbi, met with Sadiq to discuss regional security concerns. According to Sadiq, the two diplomats emphasized the importance of jointly addressing shared regional challenges.
Prior to his visit to Pakistan, Al Ketbi held talks with Afghan officials in Kabul, including a meeting with Foreign Minister Muttaqi where they discussed bilateral cooperation, trade, and transit issues.
