Improving Afghan-Pakistani ties result of efforts to promote peace

The interim government in Afghanistan has welcomed the decision of Pakistan to elevate its diplomatic mission in Kabul to ambassadorial status, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late Saturday evening, according to a Xinhua report.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan welcomes the decision of the government of Pakistan to upgrade the level of its diplomatic mission in Kabul to that of an ambassador," the ministry's deputy spokesman Hafiz Zia Ahmad posted on X.

On Friday, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar announced the decision, adding that relations between the two countries had taken a positive turn since his visit to Kabul in April. Reports showed Kabul had also elevated its diplomatic mission in Islamabad to full ambassadorial status.

This development came following the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan trilateral dialogue in Beijing on May 21. In the meeting attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Dar, they spoke highly of the outcomes of the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan trilateral dialogue.

China has played an important role in bringing the two neighbors together so they could make joint efforts to repair their ties based on mutual respect. The foreign ministers had agreed that the three countries should enhance political mutual trust and uphold friendly relations.

China welcomes this progress and stands ready to continue helping improve Afghanistan-Pakistan relations.

The three neighbors have also agreed to promote the extension of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor into Afghanistan and improve regional connectivity and infrastructure development.

As Wang said, China and Pakistan support Afghanistan's reconstruction, and are willing to increase trade to help enhance its self-development capabilities.

That serves to pave the way for broader regional common development. The countries also agreed to enforce the law and carry out security cooperation.

As Wang said, they need to remain vigilant against external interference in regional countries' internal affairs so that they can keep their relations and cooperation on the right track of development, and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability.

In fact, China has made consistent efforts to broker a rapprochement between the two neighbors ever since their relations soured in 2021 due to disputes over combating terrorism.

During Premier Li Qiang's official visit to Pakistan in October, Afghanistan-related topics were already on the agenda.

In a joint statement, both sides had called for concerted efforts of the international community to encourage the interim Afghan government to build an inclusive political framework, adopt moderate policies and pursue good-neighborly policies.

The two sides called for strengthening cooperation on counter-terrorism at the bilateral and multilateral levels to support Afghanistan in taking comprehensive measures to eradicate terrorism. They also called on the Afghan government to take visible and verifiable actions to dismantle and eliminate all terrorist groups there and prevent the use of Afghan territory against its neighbors and in the region and beyond.

It is fair to add here that the recent conflict between Pakistan and India, triggered by terrorists killing Indian tourists in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, has prompted Beijing to step up efforts to help them mend ties, as well as to promote the common development of the whole region.

China has always been a doer, not a talker, when it comes to promoting peace and development in the region.