Afghanistan, Pakistan upgrade ties amid diplomatic thaw
Afghanistan welcomed the decision to upgrade ties with Pakistan to the ambassador's level, Kabul's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's office said on Saturday.
"This elevation in diplomatic representation between Afghanistan and Pakistan paves the way for enhanced bilateral cooperation in multiple domains," the Afghan Foreign Ministry posted on X.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan welcomes the decision of the Government of Pakistan to upgrade the level of its diplomatic mission in Kabul to that of an ambassador.In reciprocity, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will elevate the... pic.twitter.com/ZY1S5TexAR
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Afghanistan (@MoFA_Afg) May 31, 2025
Relations between the two neighbors have long been strained over Islamabad's accusations that Kabul harbors Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban.
Pakistan's attempts to deport tens of thousands of Afghans have also contributed to bilateral tensions.
On Friday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced that the charge d'affaires in Kabul would be elevated to the rank of ambassador. He also said that their relations are "on [a] positive trajectory" since he visited Afghanistan in April.
Pakistan-Afghanistan relations are on positive trajectory after my very productive visit to Kabul with Pakistan delegation on 19th April 2025. To maintain this momentum, I am pleased to announce the decision of the Government of Pakistan to upgrade the level of its Chargé…
— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) May 30, 2025
Later, Kabul announced that it would reciprocate the move.
The decision came after Muttaqi met with Dar and their Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during a trilateral meeting in Beijing earlier this month.
After their talks, Wang expressed Beijing's willingness "to continue to assist with improving Afghanistan-Pakistan ties."
Muttaqi is due to visit Pakistan "in the coming days," ministry spokesman Zia Ahmad Takal told AFP news agency.
Since Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021, only a handful of countries have agreed to host Taliban government ambassadors. No country has officially recognized the administration.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
27 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Haris century earns 3-0 sweep for new-look Pakistan against Bangladesh
LAHORE, Pakistan — Mohammad Haris smashed Pakistan's second fastest century in a T20 game to complete a 3-0 sweep for his team against Bangladesh on Sunday. The wicketkeeper-batter raised his first T20 hundred off 45 balls and remained unbeaten on 107 as a new-look Pakistan cruised to 197-3 for a seven-wicket win in the third Twenty20 with 16 balls to spare.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Stolen artifacts returned to Egypt, Pakistan from Manhattan
Fifty priceless artifacts looted from Egypt and Pakistan — and trafficked through Manhattan by two notorious antiquities dealers — have been returned to their home countries, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office has announced. The repatriation of the artifacts, some of which are as old as 3300 BCE, is the result of two separate investigations into criminal trafficking networks linked to the convicted traffickers Robin Symes and Subhash Kapoor, respectively. Symes, who died in 2023, was one of the most notorious antiquities smugglers in the last century. Kapoor, 76, was convicted of running a $100 million international smuggling racket, including stealing 19 ancient idols and illegally transferring them to his art gallery in Manhattan. In total, 11 artifacts were returned to Egypt and 39 to Pakistan. Among the artifacts returned were a 'mummy mask of a youth,' a funerary mask dating to the Roman rule of Egypt, around 100-300 CE, one of the 'Fayum Portraits' famous for their realism and modernity. A terracotta vessel with painted red, black and blue fish — dating to between 3300 and 1300 BCE — seized from a Manhattan dealer in 2025 has been returned to Pakistan. Since its creation in 2017, the Antiquities Trafficking Unit has convicted 17 individuals of cultural property-related crimes, recovered more than 6,000 antiquities valued at more than $470 million, and has returned more than 5,500 of them so far to 30 countries, according to the DA's office.
Bloomberg
4 hours ago
- Bloomberg
An $84 Billion Short Book Is Putting Pressure on India's Rupee
The Indian rupee is emerging Asia's worst performer this quarter and may continue to lag peers as the central bank aims to avert a depletion in its foreign-exchange reserves, according to analysts. The Reserve Bank of India had dollar repayments of near record high of $84.3 billion as of March as indicated by its net short forwards position, a measure of the amount of greenback it has agreed to sell at a future date.
