Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to advance key railway project

Islamabad: Pakistan and Afghanistan on Sunday agreed to advance a vital railway line project, considered a key step for regional connectivity.

The agreement to advance the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) rail project came during a telephonic conversation between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Foreign Office said in a statement.

“Emphasising the importance of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Line Project for regional connectivity, both leaders agreed to work closely for an early finalisation of the framework agreement,” it said.

The development came after Pakistan on May 30 announced to upgrade its diplomatic ties with Kabul to ambassador level, followed by a similar move by Afghanistan.

According to the foreign office, Muttaqi during telephonic conversation welcomed the decision of Pakistan to upgrade its diplomatic relations to the ambassador level and informed that Afghanistan decided to reciprocate the same.

“He termed it a very positive development in bilateral relations,” according to the statement.

Both leaders also reviewed implementation of decisions taken during DPM/FM’s visit to Kabul on April 19 and vowed to continue working together to establish mutual trust between the two brotherly nations.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan had come under stress after Islamabad accused Kabul of sheltering Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists.

Observers opine that the ties are apparently improving due to efforts of China, which is using a trilateral mechanism involving the foreign ministers of the three countries to sort out differences.

The railway project to link Pakistan with Central Asia through Afghanistan is an important project to improve interconnectivity in the region.

Dar’s interaction with Muttaqi comes a day after he held a telephone conversation with Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Saidov Bakhtiyor Odilovich on Saturday.

“They discussed the modalities for early finalisation of the framework agreement for the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Line Project, including details of its signing ceremony in consultation with leadership of Afghanistan,” the foreign office said.