Khar, Mutaqqi discuss bilateral relations
Kabul:minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar and Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqqi along with their respective delegations met in Kabul and discussed maters of bilateral importance.
The meeting focused on political consultations between the two governments. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Afghanistan Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq was also present.
“A range of bilateral issues of common interest including cooperation in education, health, trade and investment, regional connectivity, people-to-people contacts, and socioeconomic projects,” the Foreign Office said.
Khar also reaffirmed Pakistan’s continued commitment and support for all efforts aimed at strengthening peace and enhancing prosperity in Afghanistan.
“As a friend and neighbour of Afghanistan, Pakistan will reaffirm its abiding solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, in particular through its efforts to ease the humanitarian crisis and to create real opportunities for economic prosperity of Afghan men, women and children,” it added.
A leading Afghan women’s group urged Khar not to forget their plight as she visited Kabul to discuss relations with the country’s Taliban rulers.
The trip by Khar, Islamabad’s first woman foreign minister in 2011 but now a minister of state, comes weeks ater the Taliban imposed new restrictions on Afghan women, barring them from parks, fun fairs, gyms and public baths.
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan said on Friday that Taliban restrictions on women and girls could amount to a “crime against humanity.”
“You serve as an example of the status of women in our neighbouring country,” the Afghan Women’s Network, representing several activist groups, said in an open leter to Khar.
“We call on you to use your visit not only as minister but as a woman and as a Muslim woman leader to support the women of Afghanistan and strengthen our solidarity.”
Pakistan is home to over a million Afghan refugees, and the porous border they share is frequently the scene of clashes.
On Monday, Pakistan’s separate but homegrown Taliban — whose leaders and fighters have long operated from Afghanistan — said they were ending a ceasefire with Islamabad. Since returning to power in August last year, the Afghan Taliban have insisted they would not allow foreign militant groups to operate from home soil.