Pak Special Envoy, Taliban’s Interior Minister Discuss Ways To Improve Bilateral Relations

Pakistan's special envoy for Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, met with Taliban’s Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani during a visit to Kabul.

The Taliban's Interior Ministry wrote in a statement that Mohammad Sadiq said, "We are committed to resolving the existing problems between Afghanistan and Pakistan through joint efforts."

On Tuesday, December 24, the Taliban's Interior Ministry published pictures of the meeting on social media platform X.

In a meeting with Mohammad Sadiq, Sirajuddin Haqqani stressed that "the current time requires that joint efforts be accelerated to resolve security and political problems in order to protect the relations between the two nations from damage and ensure the stability and development of the region”.

The Taliban's Interior Ministry has not released the details of the conversation.

The ministry added in its statement that Mohammad Sadiq also expressed his condolences on behalf of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the assassination of Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani, the Taliban's Minister for Refugees. Sirajuddin Haqqani is the nephew of Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani and the Taliban's interior minister.

Pakistan's special envoy for Afghanistan arrived in Kabul on Monday, December 23. This is Sadiq's first visit to Kabul after his election for the second time as Pakistan's special envoy for Afghanistan. About 20 days ago, on December 5, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed Sadiq Khan as Pakistan's special envoy for Afghanistan for the second time.

Mohammad Sadiq's visit to Kabul comes amid an increase in attacks on Pakistani security forces. In one of the most recent cases, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on an army checkpoint in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The TTP said that they killed 35 Pakistani soldiers in the attack.

Pakistani officials have repeatedly emphasised that TTP sanctuaries are located on Afghan soil.

Islamabad has consistently called on the Taliban to prevent the use of Afghan soil for TTP activities. However, the Afghan Taliban has denied these claims and has stated that Pakistan should not blame Afghanistan for its problems.