Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mehmood Qureshi arrived in Kabul along with a delegation on Thursday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Afghanistan’s Interim Foreign Minister Ameer Khan Muttaqi and Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmed Khan welcomed the foreign minister at the airport.

Special Representative of Prime Minister Imran Khan on Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mehmood, Secretary Commerce Saleh Ahmed Farooqui, PIA Chairman Air Marshal (r) Arshad Malik, senior officials of the Foreign Ministry and other departments are accompanying Qureshi on the visit.  

Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Asim Iftikhar has said that the FM during his stay in the Afghan capital will meet with the country’s acting foreign minister besides holding meetings with other important personalities, including members of the interim government. 

The spokesman further said that Qureshi would discuss with the Afghan government officials promotion of ties between the two countries, particularly trade ties. “The foreign minister will inform the Taliban leadership of Pakistan’s strategy with respect to maintaining peace in Afghanistan in future,” he explained.     

Talking to the media in Kabul, Qureshi said that Pakistan had increased the number of border crossings with Afghanistan in order to further promote trade relations between the two countries. “Pakistan has introduced a new visa regime in order to facilitate the movement of Afghans under the ‘Covid-19 Protocol’,” he added. 

The foreign minister said that his country was committed to further strengthening ties with Afghanistan.