Kabul/Islamabad, Apr 19 (EFE).— Pakistan stressed the urgency of addressing border security and management on Saturday, a day after Islamabad reported over 84,000 Afghan deportations this month alone.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar met with his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul, underscoring the need for joint action on border security and regional cooperation.
Dar emphasized “the paramount importance of addressing all pertinent issues, particularly those related to security and border management, to fully realize the potential for regional trade and connectivity,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The visit comes amid renewed tensions, as Pakistan reported deporting over 84,000 Afghans in April as part of an ongoing mass repatriation campaign that resumed this month.
“Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to fostering mutually beneficial relations and agreed on the importance of maintaining high-level engagement,” the statement said.
Discussions also focused on cooperation in trade, transit, connectivity, and people-to-people contact between the neighboring countries. Later, Dar also met Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund, head of Afghanistan’s Taliban government.
The two “reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing dialogue” and pledged to continue high-level exchanges to further strengthen bilateral ties, according to Islamabad.
Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to face a strained relationship, particularly over the porous 2,640-kilometer Durand Line border, which Kabul does not officially recognize.
Tensions often lead to border closures and sporadic clashes. Islamabad accuses the Taliban of allowing militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to operate from Afghan soil and carry out cross-border attacks, a charge the Taliban denies, urging Pakistan to resolve its internal security challenges.
Early this month, Pakistan resumed deportations of Afghans holding Afghan Citizenship Cards (ACC), a temporary residence document introduced in 2017 to replace the earlier Proof of Registration (PoR) cards. These documents were issued to refugees fleeing Afghanistan after the 1979 Soviet invasion.
In addition to these groups, Pakistan began expelling over 1.7 million undocumented Afghans in November 2023. Following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, more than 600,000 Afghans fled to Pakistan, fearing persecution under the new regime. EFE
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