Trust issue: Pakistan and Afghanistan to boost up fraternal ties

Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq, and his delegation, visited Kabul and held a series of talks with the top Taliban leadership, including interior and foreign ministries.

This is Sadiq’s first visit to Kabul after being assigned as Special Representative for Afghanistan and the reason for his visit was to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields and advance the fraternal ties between the two neighboring countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Sadiq announced the trip on X, saying, “looking forward to meaningful discussions with Afghanistan’s interim ministers (Taliban officials) to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation.”

During the trip, Sadiq first met with Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s acting interior minister – who has lots of influence in Khost, Paktia and Paktika provinces. According to Pakistan, these provinces are the places of movement of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and basically, Kabul and Islamabad relations deteriorated as Pakistan wants Afghanistan to smash on the movements of the TTP inside Afghan soil. However, the Taliban leadership says there are no TTP fighters in the country, and Taliban will not allow any group, including TTP to pose a threat to Afghanistan and to the regional countries.

During the meeting, Sadiq and Haqqani discussed a range of bilateral issues of common interest. Both sides agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields to further enhance the fraternal relations between the two countries. The Afghan Ministry of Interior in a statement said that both sides discussed important topics for the improvement of relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the solution of existing problems. The Pakistani delegation also expressed their condolences on the assassination of Khalilur Rehman Haqqani, the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani and key member of the Haqqani network.

Sadiq first met with Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqain against diplomatic norms to first meet with Foreign Minister 

Khili Haqqani was the first Taliban official who entered Kabul when the Taliban overthrew the former Afghan government following withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan after 20 years of presence. He has served as refugee minister since victory day on August 15 2021. He was killed by a Daesh suicide bomber inside his ministry compound.

Referring to the pessimism of the Taliban leader towards the Haqqani network, the former deputy of the European Union in Afghanistan, Michael Semple does not consider it unlikely that the members of the Taliban supreme leader were involved in the assassination of Khalil Haqqani. Michael Semple said that his assassination dealt a heavy blow to the Haqqani network and that the Taliban would likely pay a price for this.

The Haqqani family has denied the involvement of members of the Taliban supreme leader in the assassination of Khalil Haqqani. Haqqani family members insisted on the unity of the Taliban and the Haqqani family’s obedience to Hebatullah Akhundzadeh, the Taliban’s supreme leader. Their statements were made to deny rumors of differences or the involvement of people close to Hebatullah in Khalil Haqqanis assassination.

But Semple says that Hebatullah was particularly concerned about the Haqqani network’s contacts with Taliban opposition groups and foreign powers.

He added that Khalil Haqqani was more active in this field compared to other Taliban officials, because he had a political and social personality.

Semple said that Khalil Haqqani had connections with the Taliban opposition front and some foreign powers. According to him, although the Haqqani network, especially Sirajuddin Haqqani, have tried to convince the Taliban leader that they are aligned and united, Hebatullah has doubts about them.

He emphasized that Khalil Haqqani had contacts with Sirajuddin, which seemed “illegitimate” from Hebatullah’s point of view.” Sepmel reminded that Khalil Haqqani is not the first Taliban minister who was killed. During the first period of Taliban rule, Mullah Abdul Raqib was killed due to foreign contacts.

Former deputy of the European Union in Afghanistan underlined trust issue between Kandahar Taliban and the Haqqani’s 

The former diplomat. Sempel said that it is possible that the suicide bomber was a member of ISIS in the past, but he managed to assassinate Haqqani with the support of the Kandahar faction.

Sample clarified that the loss of Khalil Haqqani has put a serious blow to the Haqqani network, adding that Khalil Haqqani was one of the survivors of Jalaluddin Haqqani, the leader and founder of Haqqani network, who played a major role in the diplomacy of this network.

Pakistan Special Envoy Sadiq met with Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, where they agreed to work together to further strengthen bilateral cooperation as well as for peace and progress in the region.

Meanwhile, Sadiq also met with Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Tuesday, where they held wide ranging discussions. “Agreed to work together to further strengthen bilateral cooperation as well as for peace and progress in the region,” Sadiq said.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry in a statement said both sides discussed bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, enhancing diplomatic relations, trade, transit, and people-to-people relations.

Also, Sadiq met with Afghan traders and chamber representatives from across Afghanistan to discuss enhanced trade cooperation and economic ties, fostering a stronger bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The visit comes at a time where ties between Islamabad and Kabul have deteriorated in recent months, especially tensions have flared over the activities of the TTP, an armed group that has escalated attacks in Pakistan since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021.

Pakistani top officials, including Prime Minister and the country’s defense minister accused the Taliban of providing safe havens for TTP, an allegation the Taliban denied in strongest possible terms.

Pakistan says that Kabul allowed the TTP fighters to cross the border and carry attacks against the country’s security forces and border guards.