Pakistan upgrades ties with Afghanistan after China's push, says it will send ambassador to Kabul

This is the first time Islamabad has decided to upgrade its ties with Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country in 2021.

Pakistan's foreign minister Ishaq Dar announced Friday that Islamabad's relations with Afghanistan are on a "positive trajectory" following last week's meeting with his Chinese counterpart and the Taliban's acting foreign minister in Beijing.

"To maintain this momentum, I am pleased to announce the decision of the Government of Pakistan to upgrade the level of its Chargé d'Affaires in Kabul to the level of Ambassador. I am confident this step would further contribute towards enhanced engagement, deepen Pak-Afghan cooperation in economic, security, CT & trade areas and promote further exchanges between two fraternal countries," he posted on X.

Diplomatic ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan are currently at a charge d'affaires-level, which is a step below that of an Ambassador.

Besides last week's ministerial-level meeting organised by Beijing, Pakistan's foreign minister travelled to Kabul last month with a Pakistani delegation to hold delegation-level talks for boosting bilateral ties.

Pakistan, however, has not named the person who will be sent to Kabul as Ambassador.

The Taliban, too, is yet to respond to Islamabad's gesture. It also has its charge d'affaires based in Islamabad.

China's interference

China has taken up upon itself to settle differences between Pakistan and Afghanistan and push for Beijing's greater influence in South Asia.

Besides organising the meeting where all three foreign minister's were present, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held separate closed-door talks with Afghanistan's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

China was also the first country to accept an Ambassador from the Taliban-run administration in Kabul.

However, Beijing said it officially did not formalise ties with Kabul. The recent action on Beijing's part comes after India's outreach to the Taliban administration on May 15, when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held ministerial-level talks with Kabul for the first time since 2021.