FM Jilani meets Afghan counterpart to discuss regional peace challenges

Interim foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani met with Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi on Thursday in Tibet to discuss regional peace and stability challenges, said the Foreign Office.

FM Jilani is in China on a two-day visit in order to attend the third Trans-Himalayan Forum for International Cooperation.

During the meeting, the caretaker foreign minister underlined Pakistan’s commitment to improving bilateral ties with Afghanistan.

He also emphasised the need for a “collaborative spirit through collective strategies” to address the issues threatening regional peace and security.

The meeting comes days after Interior Minister Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti said Afghan nationals were found involved in recent terrorist attacks in the country including one in Peshawar mosque, Qila Saifullah, Zhob, and Hangu.

“We were attacked from the Afghanistan side and Afghan nationals are involved in the terrorist attacks,” the minister said, while addressing a press conference, after the apex committee meeting on the National Action Plan (NAP).

Pakistan has also decided to evict illegal immigrants. The government has set November 1 as the deadline for illegal immigrants to leave the country; otherwise, action will be taken against them.

Pakistan’s decision to expel refugees has been criticised by the Taliban administration in Kabul, which has asked that the country reconsider plans.

Zabihullah Mujahid said in a post on social media platform X that refugees should be “tolerated” by Pakistan. “The behaviour of Pakistan against Afghan refugees is unacceptable,” he said.

“The Pakistani side should reconsider its plan. Afghan refugees are not involved in Pakistan’s security problems. As long as they leave Pakistan voluntarily, that country should tolerate them.”

In response to the Taliban’s statement, Pakistan said on Thursday that action taken against illegal immigrants is not targeting any particular nationality and the country is within the parameters of its sovereign domestic laws to take action in this context“.

During her weekly news briefing, FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan wants to repatriate individuals who have either overstayed their visas or do not have valid documents to stay.

“This operation has nothing to do with the 1.4 million Afghan refugees that Pakistan has been hosting for decades with exemplary generosity and hospitality despite its own constrained economic situation,” she said.