ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid and a Taliban delegation this week met Pakistani officials in Doha amid strained ties, describing the meeting as a “good” one and hoping for relations between the two countries to improve in the future.
Tensions between the neighbors escalated last week when Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif hinted Islamabad could carry out cross-border attacks into Afghanistan to take out militants. Afghanistan warned Pakistan against taking such a step, warning there would be “consequences.”
Pakistan blames the Taliban-led government for harboring militants on Afghan soil. Islamabad alleges that the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) launch attacks in Pakistan from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. Kabul has denied the allegations and said Pakistan’s security lapses are its internal responsibility.
Delegations from Pakistan and around 30 other countries this week began a third round of United Nations-sponsored talks on integrating Afghanistan into the international community. The Pakistani mission in Qatar, including Pakistan’s Special Representative on Afghanistan Asif Durrani, held a dinner for the Taliban delegation on the sidelines of the conference on Monday.
“We thank them for their hospitality and hope for good and constructive relations for both countries,” Mujahid wrote on social media platform X on Tuesday.
“We had dinner and a very good meeting with the special representative of Pakistan Mr. Asif Durrani and the ambassador and consuls of that Pakistan in Doha.”
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan further escalated last year when Islamabad launched a deportation drive, after a spike in suicide bombings which the Pakistan government, without providing evidence, blamed on Afghan nationals.
Pakistan also says Afghans are involved in smuggling, militant violence and other crimes.
The world has wrestled with its approach to Afghanistan’s new rulers, the Taliban, who seized power in Kabul in August 2021 after an international coalition of US-led forces pulled out of the country.
The Taliban government has not been officially recognized by any country since it took power. The administration’s strict regulations, primarily against women’s right to education and work, have angered the UN and several foreign countries.
Governments, aid agencies and international organizations have slashed or massively scaled back funding for Afghanistan in response, complicating problems for a country already reeling from internal conflicts and a deepening economic crisis.
