ISLAMABAD: Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghan peace, is visiting Doha to participate in the Regional Conference on Afghanistan and a two-day meeting of the Troika Plus mechanism, the Pakistani foreign office said.
The Troika is a platform to discuss Afghanistan led by the United States, China, Russia. Its meetings come three weeks before the August 31 date that Washington set for the official withdrawal of its military forces in Afghanistan.
“This meeting of Troika Plus in Doha is taking place at an important time when the security situation in Afghanistan is continuously deteriorating particularly as the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from the country continues,” the foreign office said. “Pakistan hopes that the meetings in Doha would help facilitate resumption of Intra-Afghan Negotiations with a view to achieve a political solution for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan, at peace with itself and with its neighbors.”
Afghan Taliban insurgents have taken dozens of districts and border crossings in recent months and on Tuesday, Pul-e-Khumri, capital of the northern province of Baghlan, fell to insurgents, becoming the seventh regional capital to come under their control in about a week.
Taliban forces now control 65 percent of Afghanistan, threaten to take 11 provincial capitals and seek to deprive Kabul of its traditional support from national forces in the north, a senior European Union official said on Tuesday.
Peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban negotiators started last year in the Qatari capital of Doha, but have not made any substantive progress.
Pakistan’s special envoy in Doha for ‘troika’ meetings on Afghanistan today
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Pakistan’s special envoy in Doha for ‘troika’ meetings on Afghanistan today
- The Troika is a platform to discuss Afghanistan led by the United States, China, Russia
- Meetings come three weeks before deadline for official withdrawal of US military forces in Afghanistan
Pakistani immigration agents express concern over US visa ban
- Trump’s administration is suspending immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries
- The pause will begin on January 21, a State Department spokesperson said this week
Pakistani immigration agents and members of the public expressed concern to US immigration ban on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump’s administration is suspending processing for immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries, a State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday, as part of Washington’s intensifying immigration crackdown.
The pause, which will impact applicants from Latin American countries including Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay, Balkan countries such as Bosnia and Albania, South Asian countries Pakistan and Bangladesh, and those from many nations in Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean, will begin on January 21, the spokesperson said.
“It is a matter of concern,” said travel and immigration agent, Mohammad Yaseen, in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city.
“All these people who were waiting for a long time for their visas to be issued, they also had an appointment date, their visas would be suspended. They will be affected by this news and this ban,” he added.
A local resident and banker, Amar Ali, said the ban will economically dent Pakistan because many Pakistanis earn and send dollars back home which boosts its economy.
Another local resident, Anwer Farooqui, urged President Trump to reconsider this decision and keep Pakistan, which is a very reliable friend of the United States, at the same level.
The cable, sent to US missions, said there were indications that nationals from these countries had sought public benefits in the United States.
The move, which was first reported by Fox News, does not impact US visitor visas, which have been in the spotlight given the United States is hosting the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.
The decision follows a November directive to US diplomats asking them to ensure that visa applicants are financially self-sufficient and do not risk becoming dependent on government subsidies during their stay in the US, according to a State Department cable seen by Reuters at the time.
Trump has pursued a sweeping immigration crackdown since returning to office in January. His administration has aggressively prioritized immigration enforcement, sending federal agents to major US cities and sparking violent confrontations with both migrants and US citizens.
