ISLAMABAD: A senior aide of the Taliban supreme leader visited Islamabad on Wednesday to hold high-level talks with the Pakistani officials including the caretaker foreign minister, as tensions between the two neighboring countries continue to mount over cross-border terrorism.
The most senior Taliban official to visit Pakistan in recent months is Haji Mullah Shirin, the governor of Kandahar and the deputy head of Afghanistan military intelligence and strategy. He headed the Afghan delegation at the sixth session of Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Coordination Committee (JCC).
The Pakistani side was led by its Special Envoy on Afghanistan, Ambassador Asif Durrani. According to official sources, the talks took more than 3 hours, and the scope of the discussions was broad and included the operations of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the security concerns of the borders, and the deportation of the undocumented Afghan nationals.
In another interaction, Mullah Shirin met with Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani. Though the statements of both sides were diplomatic and did not directly refer to the more contentious issues, the Pakistani Foreign Office said that the talks covered the most important issues of mutual concern, especially peace, security and people-to-people contacts.
Foreign Minister Jilani reiterated the commitment of Pakistan to sustained interaction and development of mutually beneficial relations with Afghanistan. He also emphasized the necessity of dealing with all issues to open the potential of increased regional trade and connectivity.
Mullah Shirin, as per the Foreign Office, thanked Pakistan on its support of Afghan refugees over the years and agreed to continue high level dialogue to enhance bilateral relations.
At the JCC meeting, the two sides discussed the coordination mechanisms that could be used to facilitate cross-border movement and enhance people-to-people contacts. According to a statement issued by the Afghan Taliban spokesperson, the committee will be alternating between Kabul and Islamabad and is expected to address any possible disputes and improve infrastructure in the Durand Line.
The participants will negotiate and make critical decisions on how to resolve possible disputes in the Durand Line and how to provide the citizens on both sides with the required facilities.
The foreign policy overture follows a growing tension between the two nations over Kabul not doing enough to combat the TTP, which Islamabad says is staging an increasing number of attacks on Pakistani security forces across the border.
Pakistan has been insistent that the Taliban government should take stern action against militant hideouts. But Kabul says it does not allow any group to use the Afghan soil to attack its neighbors.
Before the visit of the delegation, the acting defense minister of Afghanistan, Mullah Yaqub, shifted the blame of recent attacks and said that terrorism in Afghanistan was perpetrated by foreign powers, and specifically he mentioned the nationals of Pakistan and Tajikistan. It is believed that his remarks were aimed at relieving Kabul of pressure as demands on it to take concrete action are mounting in Islamabad.
It is not clear yet that the visit of Mullah Shirin will lead to any concrete result, but both parties seem to want to keep the diplomatic doors open in the tense regional security situation.
