ISLAMABAD: The For­eign Office has said that Pakistan has pursued continuous and practical engag­ement with the interim Afghan government since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on Aug 15, 2021.

Addressing a weekly briefing on Thursday, FO Spoke­sperson Mumtaz Zehra Baloch said that during the outgoing year Pakistan was involved in multilateral dipl­omacy, both in an individual capacity and as a member of international groupings.

Regarding Afghanistan, she expressed disappointment over the interim government’s decision about women’s education and their participation in public life.

Talking about Islamabad’s engagement with Kabul, she mentioned the meeting between Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir on the sidelines of the SCO-CFM in Tashkent, as well as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar’s visit to Kabul last month.

Referring to an attack on Pakistan’s head of mission in Kabul, the spokesperson said the security of Pakistan’s diplomats and missions in Afgh­anistan had been stepped up.

About India, Ms Baloch said Pakistan had maintained that bilateral relations could not fully normalise until the resolution of outstanding disputes, especially the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

She said that removal of Pakistan from the grey list of FATF and the establishment of Loss and Damage Fund at COP27, are among the major outcomes of Islamabad’s dip­lo­macy throughout 2022.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2022