ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Sadiq Khan has held important meetings during his visit to Afghanistan and more are scheduled.
Muhammad Sadiq Khan has released details of his engagements and meetings in Kabul on his social media account, according to which he met with Afghan Interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul.
He said that he has reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to continuous engagements and mutually beneficial relations with Afghanistan, and both sides have agreed to take forward high-level engagements and talks to further strengthen bilateral relations.
Sadiq Khan has also released details of his meeting with Afghanistan’s Acting Minister of Commerce Nooruddin Azizi, whom he met in Kabul today.
He said that we have discussed bilateral trade and economic relations as well as cooperation in the areas of corridors and connectivity and emphasized Pakistan’s commitment to mutually beneficial relations with Afghanistan in the meeting.
Sadiq Khan said that the two sides have agreed to utilize the full potential of regional trade and connectivity for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
Earlier, the Foreign Office spokesperson had said that Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq Khan is paying an official visit to Afghanistan on the instructions of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. The purpose of the visit is to discuss Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations.
He had said that during the visit, he will hold high-level meetings with the Afghan leadership, in which the recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan and the increasing operations of TTP and ISIS are being considered, and Pakistan will also raise the issue of the use of Afghan territory in these meetings.
The spokesperson said that recently, former US diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad met representatives of the Taliban government in Kabul. As a result of this meeting, the Taliban government released 65-year-old American citizen George Glazeman, who had been in prison for more than two years, and Zalmay Khalilzad, who led the Doha talks, expressed satisfaction with this progress.
He said in a message that this is a good day because we have succeeded in securing the release of an American citizen after two years of imprisonment in Kabul. This meeting and the release of the American citizen are being seen as a gesture of goodwill towards the United States by the Taliban government.
He said that this shows that the Taliban government is seeking positive progress in international relations. The most notable results of Zalmay Khalilzad’s meeting with Taliban officials include the release of an American citizen, George Glazeman, who was in Taliban custody for almost two years and was released as a result of Khalilzad’s diplomatic efforts.
The release of the American citizen is being considered by the Taliban as a gesture of goodwill towards the United States, which may raise hopes for an improvement in relations between the Taliban and the United States.
It is not clear what further concessions Zalmay Khalilzad secured from the Taliban, but the release of an American citizen is being considered a major diplomatic success. If further results from this meeting emerge in the future, it will be clear whether any further agreements or negotiations have taken place between the Taliban and the United States.
