Durrani Set To Visit Kabul For First Time As Pakistan’s Special Envoy

As tensions have escalated between the Taliban and Pakistan, Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan will visit Kabul on Wednesday.

Durrani's office confirmed to Afghanistan International that he will travel to Kabul for a three-day trip to meet Taliban officials.

This is Asif Durrani's first visit to Afghanistan as Pakistan’s special envoy. Last month, he had been appointed as Pakistan's special representative for Afghanistan affairs.

Tension between Pakistan's military establishment and the Taliban escalated after a group of militants waged a complex attack on a Pakistani military base in Baluchistan province last week. At least 12 Pakistani soldiers were killed in this attack.

After the attack, the Pakistani army expressed its concern in two separate statements about the safe havens of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Afghanistan and the participation of Afghan citizens in "terrorist" activities on Pakistani soil.

In a statement, the Pakistani army announced that it has "serious concerns" about the existence of safe havens and the freedom of action of the Pakistani Taliban in Afghanistan.

The statement said that the participation of Afghan citizens in "terrorist activities" inside Pakistan is another important concern of the army.

In another statement on Monday, Pakistan Army stressed that the TTP shelters in Afghanistan are one of the main factors of instability in Pakistan.

The Pakistan army added that TTP has freedom of action in Afghanistan and has access to the "latest weapons".

The Afghan Taliban continues to emphasise, as in the past two years, that foreign militant groups are not present in Afghanistan and the Taliban doesn’t allow any group to attack the territory of neighbouring countries from Afghanistan.

Following these tensions, John Kirby, the spokesperson for the US National Security Council, said that there is no evidence about the involvement of Afghan refugees in Pakistan or its border areas in terrorist activities in Pakistan.