A high-level delegation from Pakistan met in Kabul on Wednesday with the country’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund.

This meeting took place at a time when the news of the closure of one of the important Border crossings with Pakistan by the interim government of the Taliban in Afghanistan was coming to the fore. The Taliban administration made this decision unilaterally.

Pakistan’s high-level delegation was headed by the country’s Defense Minister Khwaja Asif. Nadeem Anjum, director general of Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI, was also included in this delegation.

Afghanistan had said before the Pakistani high-level delegation meeting that the border issue would be resolved through talks. At the same time, Pakistan had given information about the presence of a high-level delegation in Kabul, but said nothing about the closure of the border crossing.

The information was provided on Twitter by the office of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, deputy prime minister for economic affairs in the Taliban government, about the meeting with the high-level delegation from Pakistan.

cheep It was said: “The two sides discussed economic cooperation, regional connectivity, trade and bilateral relations.

According to the information given on Twitter, during the meeting, Mullah Akhund said: “Pakistan and Afghanistan are neighbors and they should have good relations. Afghanistan emphasizes trade and economic relations with Pakistan because it is in the interest of both countries. Politics and our commercial or economic relations cannot be affected by security issues.

Afghanistan has also talked about releasing Afghan prisoners housed in Pakistani jails.

The border issue was also brought up in a tweet.

In its tweet, the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office wrote: “Good facilities should be provided for passengers at Torkham and Spin Boldak crossings. More care should be taken for the sick. Pakistan assured Afghanistan on these matters, saying the departments would look into it.”It will work soon.”

What is the situation at the border?,

The Taliban administration did not clarify the reason for the closure of the Torkham border crossing, but the Afghan Taliban administration claimed that border officers on the Pakistani side were treating its citizens poorly. Pakistani officials have rejected this claim, but there was no comment from them on this issue.

The border of some 2,600 kilometers connects Pakistan and Afghanistan. Torkham, near the Khyber Pass, is the main thoroughfare of trade and movement, and there is constant movement here.

Now hundreds of trucks queue up here. Most of these are loaded with things like fruits and vegetables that can go bad quickly. Passengers are also stranded on both sides of the border. Fearing heavy losses, businessmen are concerned and are demanding that their governments resolve the matter quickly and amicably.

It is believed that the situation may improve after the meeting of officials from both countries.

Afghanistan is a landlocked country, that is, there is no maritime border near it. In such a situation, Pakistan is an important country for business activities from here.

The Torkham-Jalalabad border remains busy throughout the year, even after minor disruptions. All of Afghanistan’s resources are confiscated. There are also strict international restrictions in this regard. In such a situation, you are highly dependent on this route to do business. Its closure is hurting Afghanistan’s economy more than before.

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Pakistan has eased a series of tax and visa restrictions to encourage two-way trade.

Before the border crossing was closed, there were shots between the security forces deployed at the border.

Locals say they had heard the sound of loud gunshots for a few hours.

According to the locals, they feared that the situation would worsen, but the matter cooled down. In this confrontation, a Pakistani soldier was wounded while a Taliban guard was killed. Although, now there is a ceasefire situation but the border is still closed.

The Afghan administration alleges that Pakistan Border Force officers are misbehaving with passengers from Afghanistan.

Taliban administration spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid issued a statement to the media. In it, he alleged that the passengers’ documents were thrown away. The security forces also strictly treated the patients who were going to receive treatment in Pakistan. These patients also included women and the elderly.

He also said that the Afghan authorities are in talks with Pakistan on this issue and this matter will be resolved through dialogue.

Siddiqullah Qureshi, head of the information department of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, said Pakistan had not kept a promise to provide facilities for transporting sick passengers. This is the reason for the recent tension.

On the other hand, Pakistan has denied these accusations, but its Foreign Ministry and Army spokesperson have yet to react to Afghanistan’s statement.

BBC He also tried to get in touch on this matter, but no response was received from him.

However, a government official, who did not want to be named, confirmed that the dispute started when border officials detained a male attendant (care assistant) who was accompanying a woman to Pakistan without valid documents.

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman gave this information on Twitter that a high-level delegation from Pakistan is in Afghanistan and will hold talks with officials there. But the border issue was not directly mentioned in this statement.

Pakistan’s border policy for Afghanistan has been very soft in the past.

There are still thousands of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Some of these have not even been recorded.

But the security situation has deteriorated in recent months and attacks on Pakistani security forces have increased. Since then, officers stationed at the border have stepped up the rigor. This has angered the Taliban administration of Afghanistan. He is not used to such strictness from Pakistan.

The Afghan Taliban captured Kabul in the year 2021. Since then, relations between Pakistan and the Taliban administration have deteriorated.

The main cause of the conflict is Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The banned TTP organization is said to be guilty of killing thousands of Pakistani citizens and security personnel over the past two decades.

Several military operations have been carried out in the northwestern tribal region over the years, and Pakistani officials say the area has been cleared of “terrorist activities.” Many TTP commanders, fighters and sympathizers were killed or arrested. The survivors of the TTP leadership were forced to flee to Afghanistan.

However, security experts say that since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, TTP has taken on new life and inspiration. Pakistan claims that the TTP is planning and executing attacks from across the border. The land of Afghanistan is being used to harm the interests of Pakistan.

The Taliban administration of Afghanistan has been denying these accusations. Last year, he facilitated talks between Pakistani officials and the TTP. After this a temporary ceasefire came into effect. But it could not succeed due to lack of public support. In November 2022, TTP announced the end of the ceasefire and since then they have been attacking the security forces.

Last month, more than 100 people were killed in an attack on a mosque in Peshawar. Most of those who died were policemen. TTP had taken responsibility for this attack.

The conversation about the conflict on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border is not new. Such conflicts used to take place even during the Karzai and Ghani governments in Afghanistan. This trend continues even after the Taliban administration came to power. Amid escalating attacks, Pakistan is putting pressure on Afghanistan’s Taliban administration to take action against the TTP.

Security experts believe it is difficult for Afghanistan’s interim government to take action against the TTP. The TTP is ideologically similar to him and has been supporting him in the fight against the US-led coalition forces. Many of the wrestlers also have family relationships with each other.

On the other hand, the support of Pakistan is also necessary for the survival of the Taliban administration. The world has not yet recognized it as a legitimate government and it is struggling to gain recognition. In such a situation, the Afghan Taliban find themselves in a dilemma.

At the Munich Security Conference last week, Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto called for holding talks with the Afghan Taliban and providing them with more support. He also tried to draw attention to how the growing threat of terrorism in Afghanistan can affect the world. He was pointing out the danger from IS, Al Qaeda and TTP.

The Foreign Ministry of the Afghan administration issued a statement welcoming the Pakistani Foreign Minister’s remarks. He also said Pakistan should raise bilateral issues “in front of the Afghan government and not complain about it at international conferences.”

It was also said in the statement that the Taliban administration will not allow its land to be used against other countries.

The statement said: “Pakistan’s recent insecurity is not new, but this situation has persisted for the past two decades. The IEA is determined not to allow anyone to use Afghanistan’s soil against other countries, especially its neighbours.”

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