KABUL: During talks with Pakistan’s visiting foreign minister, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday emphasized the need to fully implement the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS), as Kabul seeks to reset ties with the new government in Islamabad.
The one-day visit by Shah Mahmood Qureshi is the first by a top Pakistani official to Kabul since Imran Khan became prime minister in July.
The talks with Qureshi will show if there is a change of heart in Pakistan with the arrival of a new government, said a senior Afghan government member.
Earlier this month, the US froze $300 million in aid to Pakistan for allegedly not doing enough to curb the Afghan Taliban’s activities.
Qureshi’s visit coincides with a sharp rise in Taliban and Daesh attacks and long-delayed parliamentary elections in October, as well as presidential polls slated for April 2019 that Ghani plans to contest. Ghani is keen for Pakistan to convince the Taliban to not disrupt the elections.
The presidential palace in Kabul said Ghani and Qureshi discussed peace and security in the region, the joint fight against terrorism and implementation of APAPPS, which the two countries signed in April this year.
“The president, referring to the importance of APAPPS, said that this plan is all-sided and its effectiveness becomes important when enforced fully,” the palace said in a statement.
Qureshi also met with his Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.
The closure earlier this month of Pakistan’s consulate in the eastern city of Jalalabad was discussed with Rabbani, an Afghan official said.
Current and former officials in both capitals have expressed doubt that Qureshi’s visit will lead to any drastic or immediate change in bilateral relations.
Amrullah Saleh, a former Afghan spy chief, tweeted that Qureshi “will repeat word by word everything his predecessors have said in the past 17 years that Pakistan is not harboring terrorists.”
Afghan president emphasizes need to implement APAPPS to Pakistan FM
Afghan president emphasizes need to implement APAPPS to Pakistan FM
Zelensky wants to replace Ukraine’s defense minister
- President has offered the position to his current minister of digital transformation, who is aged just 34
- No explanation was given for his decision to replace Denys Shmygal
KYIV, Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said he intended to replace his defense minister and had offered the position to his current minister of digital transformation, who is aged just 34.
“I have decided to change the structure of the Ukrainian ministry of defense,” Zelensky said in his daily address broadcast on social media. “I have offered Mikhailo Fedorov the position of new Ukrainian defense minister.”
Fedorov, who has been digital transformation minister since 2019, is a relative political novice little-known to the Ukrainian public.
“Mykhailo is deeply involved in issues related to drones and is very effective in the digitalization of state services and processes,” Zelensky added.
Without explaining his decision to replace Denys Shmygal, the Ukrainian leader said he had proposed the incumbent “head another area of government work that is no less important for our stability.”
Zelensky had tapped Shmygal as defense minister just half a year ago, in July 2025.
Besides the turnover at the defense ministry, Zelensky also named Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov to head his presidential office.
Budanov replaces Andriy Yermak, who was among Ukraine’s most powerful people before being engulfed in a corruption scandal dogging some of Zelensky’s former allies.
