Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi arrived in Islamabad on Friday on a four-day visit for talks on security, economic and trade issues.

Prior to his departure from Kabul, Afghan Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Hafiz Zia Takkal said FM Muttaqi will lead a “comprehensive political and trade delegation”.

“The Afghan government wants to hold wide-ranging bilateral talks on political, economic relations, regional security and transit,” he added.

A day earlier, the Foreign Office (FO) had said that Muttaqi will lead a high-level delegation, which includes the Act­ing Minister for Commerce and Industry Haji Nooruddin Azizi, and senior officials from the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Transport and Trade.

The FO had also said the two sides will review the entire spectrum of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the political, economic, trade, connectivity, peace and security, and education domains.

Apart from holding bilateral meetings, the acting Afghan foreign minister will also participate in the fifth China-Pakistan-Afghanistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue on May 6.

State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China Qin Gang, who will also participate in the trilateral foreign ministers’ dialogue, arrived in Islamabad earlier today.

In a tweet today, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari confirmed that bilateral and trilateral meetings will be held with his Afghan Chinese counterparts tomorrow (Saturday).

Since its launch in 2017, the trilateral dialogue mechanism has achieved remarkable results and has become an important platform for the three countries to enhance understanding and deepen mutual trust and cooperation.

The dialogue this time is taking place at a time when cross-border attacks from Afghanistan are on the rise and an estimated 150 attacks have been carried out by terrorists in 2022, using Afghan soil.

Bilawal calls for meaningful engagement with Afghan govt

Bilawal, while speaking at the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in India earlier today, said that the situation in Afghanistan presented new challenges as well as opportunities.

He urged the international community to meaningfully engage with the Interim Afghan government to better understand and influence the course of events.

“After being the playground for great powers, time and time again, we owe it to the people of Afghanistan to not repeat the mistakes of the past,” Bilawal said, adding that a united international community must continue to urge the Afghan authorities to adopt universally-accepted principles of political inclusivity, and respecting the rights of all Afghans, including girls’ right to education.

“The international community should also help build their counter-terrorism capacity for the security of Afghanistan, the region and the world at large. It is alarming that terrorist groups within Afghanistan are cooperating amongst themselves more than we are as the international community,” the foreign minister said.

Bilawal called on the Interim Afghan authorities to uphold their commitment regarding not allowing the use of Afghan soil for terrorism.

He also pressed the international community to work towards addressing these security concerns to unlock the true potential of not only Afghanistan but the region as a whole.

What can be discussed?

While the Afghan foreign ministry has listed certain issues which will be discussed during the upcoming talks with Pakistan, there may be other issues that Pakistan wants to address as well.

One such issue is Pakistan’s desire for Kabul to take action against the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Pakistani officials say operates from Afghan territory. However, the Taliban government in Afghanistan denies these assertions.

Speaking to Dawn.com today, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan said the TTP issue was an important one for Pakistan and the best way to address it was by having “smooth and interrupting” engagement at the state-to-state level.

“It will require close cooperation in border management, visa issues, trade and transit procedures. It’s not possible to overcome these challenges without addressing ground realities. There has to be a holistic and long-term approach,” he added.

Khan also said that stability in the Pakistan-Afghanistan engagement offered immense opportunities for regional economic integration and connectivity.