Afghanistan | Pakistan

At least 25 people were killed and 27 injured when a bus overturned in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, authorities told AFP, a week after the country’s deadliest road accident in years. The crash happened “due to the driver’s negligence” on a highway near the capital Kabul, leading to the southern city of Kandahar, interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said. Qani said 25 people were killed and 27 were being treated at hospitals for injuries, the extent of which was not specified. Deadly traffic crashes are common in Afghanistan, due in part to poor roads after decades of conflict, dangerous driving on highways and a lack of regulation. Last Tuesday, 78 people, including more than a dozen children, were killed in western Herat province when a bus carrying migrants returning from Iran collided with a motorcycle and a truck, according to authorities. In December last year, two bus accidents involving a fuel tanker and a truck on a highway through central Afghanistan killed at least 52.

KABUL: Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan on Wednesday reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing joint efforts in counterterrorism and deepening cooperation in trade, transit, and other key sectors. The pledge came during the Sixth Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue held today in Kabul. The meeting brought together Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, China’s Foreign Minister, […]

Pakistan, China and Afghanistan on Wednesday committed themselves to bolstering joint efforts against the menace of terrorism and deepening their collaboration in key spheres. A statement to this effect followed the Sixth Trilateral Foreign Ministers Dialogue held in Kabul between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Chinese and Afghan counterparts, Wang Yi and Amir Khan Muttaqi, respectively, on the topics of political, economic and security cooperation. “The three sides committed to strengthening joint efforts against terrorism. They also reaffirmed their commitment to deepening collaboration in trade, transit, regional development, health, education, culture, and combating drug trafficking, as well as extension of CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) to Afghanistan,” the Foreign Office (FO) said on the meeting. Before the meeting, Dar met FM Muttaqi on the sidelines and the two are said to have noted the positive movement in political and economic ties between Pakistan and Afghan...

Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan on Wednesday reaffirmed their resolve to step up joint efforts against terrorism while expanding cooperation in political, economic, and security domains.

The death toll from a collision between a bus carrying Afghan migrants returning from Iran and two other vehicles in western Afghanistan has risen to 76, a provincial official said on Wednesday. “Seventy-six citizens of the country… lost their lives in the incident, and three others were seriously injured,” Mohammad Yousuf Saeedi, Herat provincial government spokesman, said in a statement. Police in Guzara district outside Herat city, where the accident took place on Tuesday night, said the bus collided with a motorcycle and a truck carrying fuel, sparking a fire. The bus was carrying Afghans recently returned from Iran to the capital Kabul, Saeedi told AFP on Tuesday. At least 1.5 million people have returned to Afghanistan since the start of this year from Iran and Pakistan, both of which have sought to force migrants out after decades of hosting them, according to the UN migration agency. The state-run Bakhtar News Agency said Tuesday’s accident was one of the deadliest in the country in recent years. Traf...

Pakistani security forces have killed 33 terrorists during an attempted infiltration along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border near Sambaza in Zhob District, Balochistan, the military’s media wing confirmed on Friday.

Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will participate in a tri-series of Twenty20 international matches to tune up for next month’s Asia Cup, followed by the Twenty20 World Cup next year, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Friday. “The tri-series will feature teams from Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UAE from 29 August to 7 September at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium,” the PCB said in a press release. The T20I tournament will serve as a “launching pad” for the teams to prepare for the Asian Cricket Council’s T20 Asia Cup, scheduled to take place in the UAE from September 9-28, it added. According to the schedule, the opening match of the tri-series tournament will be played between Afghanistan and Pakistan on August 29. Each team will play the others twice, giving all sides at least four matches before the top two teams qualify for the final, scheduled on September 7. India and Sri Lanka will co-host the Twenty20 World Cup in February-March next year. Tournament schedule (all matches at ...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday signed an Early Harvest Programme (EHP) to reduce tariffs on eight agricultural items for one year, laying the foundation for a broader preferential trade agreement (PTA) between the two countries. The EHP, which takes effect on Aug 1, will remain in force for one year and is renewable. It also allows for the future inclusion of additional items, making it the first tangible step towards launching negotiations on a comprehensive PTA. The agreement was signed by Pakistan’s Commerce Secretary, Jawad Paul, and Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Mullah Ahmadullah Zahid, who was accompanied by a delegation of senior technical officials. The Afghan delegation arrived in Islamabad on Monday night to hold detailed negotiations with Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce. Under the agreement, tariffs on four Afghan agricultural exports to Pakistan — grapes, pomegranates, apples, and tomatoes — and four Pakistani exports to Afghanistan — mangoes, kinnows, b...

ISLAMABAD - Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb yesterday said that Afghanistan was a significant market for Pakistani products.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation for effective border management and the eradication of terrorism during a high-level meeting in Kabul on Sunday.

KABUL: Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to reinforce cooperation for efficient border control and the eradication of terrorism. The agreement was established during a top-level meeting in Kabul on Sunday between the Interior Minister of Pakistan, Mohsin Naqvi and his Afghan counterpart, Sirajuddin Haqqani. The two leaders emphasised the importance of mutual respect, regional stability, […]

Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to strengthen mutual cooperation for effective border management and the elimination of terrorism.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan yesterday signed a Framework Agreement on the Joint Feasibility Study for the Naibabad–Kharlachi segment of the Uzbekistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan (UAP) Railway Corridor.

Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan signed the Framework Agreement on the Joint Feasibility Study for the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Project in Kabul on Thursday. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar made the announcement in a post on X from Kabul, where he arrived earlier today on a day-long visit for the signing. “I congratulate the people and governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan on the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Joint Feasibility Study for the Naibabad–Kharlachi rail link under the UAP Railway Corridor. “I also thank the foreign ministers of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan for their support and commitment for timely signing of the agreement. We remained closely engaged throughout the negotiation process to finalise the details.” He hailed the UAP Railway Corridor as a major milestone in advancing regional connectivity and economic integration that would connect Central Asian countries to Pakistani seaports through Afghanistan. Dar said the signi...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan held the inaugural session of the Additional Secretary-Level Mechanism of Foreign Ministries to discuss key bilateral issues, including trade, transit cooperation, security, and regional connectivity. The inaugural round of the Additional Secretary-Level Mechanism was a follow-up to decisions made during the visit of Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister of Pakistan to Kabul, Afghanistan, […]

Pakistan and Afghanistan recognised terrorism as a serious threat as the inaugural round of the Additional Secretary-Level Mechanism between the Foreign Ministries of Pakistan and Afghanistan was held in Islamabad on Monday. The talks are the latest in a series of steps between both nations to improve ties, such as the revival of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) and the upgrading of each country’s diplomats from the rank of chargé d’affaires to ambassador. According to a press release from the Foreign Office, the Pakistani delegation was led by Additional Secretary (Afghanistan and West Asia) Ambassador Syed Ali Asad Gillani, while the Afghan side was led by the Director General of the First Political Division at the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor.   “Discussions covered key areas of bilateral interest, including trade and transit cooperation, security, and connectivity. Both sides recognised terrorism as a serious threat to regional peace and security. The Pakistani side emph...

Russia has officially recognised the Taliban government in Afghanistan as it seeks closer ties with Kabul’s leadership, Russian news agencies reported on Thursday. Moscow’s special representative for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, told the state news agency Ria Novosti that the government had “recognised” the Taliban, which refers to itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Russia’s […]

Afghanistan is in discussions with Russia to import certain foodstuffs as the conflict between Israel and Iran, one of its largest trading partners, risked cutting off supplies, its agriculture minister told Reuters. As relations between Russia and the Taliban government have been improving, an Afghan delegation is visiting Russia’s main economic conference in St Petersburg this week, meeting Russian agriculture officials. “Afghanistan is definitely aiming for self-sufficiency in its agricultural products. However, we still rely on some food items that come from Iran, and if problems arise there, it will undoubtedly have its effects,” Ataullah Omari said on the sidelines of the conference. Iran supplies Afghanistan with some dairy products, among other commodities, and there is widespread concern that the week-old war between Israel and Iran could disrupt trade flows. Russia — the world’s largest wheat exporter — and Kazakhstan are the main suppliers of wheat and flour to Afghanistan. Russia is also supplying...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan yesterday upgraded its diplomatic representation in Afghanistan from a Chargé d’Affaires to an ambassador-level envoy, signalling improvement in bilateral ties and an intent to pur-sue deeper cooperation on regional security and economic integration.

Pakistan on Friday announced its elevation of diplomatic representation in Afghanistan from Charge d’Affaires to Ambassador level as bilateral ties “move on a positive trajectory.” Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to upgrade their diplomatic relations by exchanging envoys — a key step towards normalising ties after years of strained relations between Islamabad and the Taliban administration in Kabul. Ties between the two neighbouring countries had turned sour due to frequent border skirmishes and Islamabad repeatedly demanding that Kabul take action against the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for using Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan. Kabul has denied the allegations. The recent understanding was reached during an informal trilateral meeting of foreign ministers from Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan in Beijing earlier this month. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met Afghanistan’s interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in the Chinese capital. In a post on X, Dar said, “...