Islamabad, Apr 18 (PTI) In an indication of a thaw in the strained ties, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will pay a daylong visit to Afghanistan on Saturday, it was announced on Friday.

The announcement comes close on the heels of the latest round of Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Coordination Committee meeting in Kabul that was held this week in the wake of rising tensions between the two countries on several issues, including the increased activities by armed groups within Pakistan since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.

Dar’s trip, in planning for several months, had been delayed repeatedly due to growing tensions rooted in Pakistan’s security concerns. The relationship between Islamabad and Kabul has steadily deteriorated since August 2021.

Dar, who will lead a high-level delegation to Kabul, had been invited by the interim Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, according to a statement by the Foreign Office (FO).

During the visit, Dar will call on the Afghan acting Prime Minister, Mullah Hassan Akhund, as well as meet acting Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and also hold delegation-level talks with Foreign Minister Muttaqi.

“The talks will cover the entire gamut of Pak-Afghan relationship, focusing on ways and means to deepen cooperation in all areas of mutual interests, including security, trade, connectivity, and people-to-people ties,” FO said.

It added that the Deputy Prime Minister’s visit is a reflection of Pakistan’s commitment to enhance sustained engagement with the brotherly country of Afghanistan.

Dar’s visit comes amidst the ongoing drive to send back Afghan refugees despite requests by the Afghan authorities to relax the drive.

At the latest round of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Coordination Committee meeting in Kabul held on Wednesday after a 15-months gap, Pakistan’s delegation was led by Ambassador Sadiq Khan, the country’s special representative for Afghanistan, while the Afghan side was headed by Acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, Dawn said.

“The meeting came in the light of rising tensions between the two countries, with Afghan refugee deportations, skirmishes along the border, and the increased activity of armed groups within Pakistan since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021,” the Dawn said.

“Pakistan maintains that these armed groups operate from within Afghan soil — a claim that Afghan officials have denied — maintaining that no one can use Afghan soil against any country,” it added.

The last JCC meeting was held in Islamabad in early January 2024.

Dawn quoted Pakistani officials as saying that the issue of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other armed groups was a major hurdle in the Pak-Afghan relationship.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office last month had said the terrorists behind the Jaffar Express hijacking had Afghan connections, with phone records traced to Kabul.

The Afghan Taliban said militants of the ISKP (Daesh) entered Afghanistan from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a claim labelled as “baseless” by Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a separate statement earlier this week that Dar met Afghan Acting Minister for Commerce and Industries Haji Nooruddin Azizi in Islamabad. The two leaders “underlined the importance of maintaining high-level political engagement between the two neighbouring countries”, Dawn said, quoting the statement. PTI SH NPK NPK