Despite a period of turbulent relations between the Muslim neighbours, Pakistan has announced its decision to upgrade its Kabul diplomatic post to full ambassadorial status.
Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, said that bilateral ties with Afghanistan “are on a positive trajectory after my very productive visit to Kabul with Pakistan’s delegation on 19th April 2025.”
“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,” Dar said on X.
Dar had met with Maulvi Amir Khan Muttaqi, Afghanistan’s interim foreign minister, in the Afghan capital Kabul last month.
“I am confident this step would further contribute towards enhanced engagement, deepen Pak-Afghan cooperation in economic, security, CT (counterterrorism), and trade areas, and promote further exchanges between two fraternal countries,” said the Pakistani top diplomat.
Pakistan’s special representative to Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, said the new step would “promote bilateral cooperation in all fields to the benefit of their two peoples and peace and progress of their region.”
Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Kabul was until now headed by a chargé d’affaires.
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The Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021, after the collapse of the Western-backed regime, as all the U.S.-led foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan.
A number of countries maintain diplomatic relations with the Islamic Emirate and engage with them without granting formal recognition to their government. This growing group of countries includes Pakistan, Russia, China and India.
Pakistan-Afghan relations
A number of issues in the recent past have prevented Islamabad and Kabul resumed their historically warm ties.
These include cross-border militancy, accusations of Afghan support for militant groups in Pakistan and Islamabad’s decision to deport almost a million Afghan refugees back to their country.
Islamabad’s decision to upgrade ties with the appointment of a full ambassador comes after an informal trilateral meeting of top diplomats hosted by Beijing last week.
Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed in principle to appoint ambassadors as soon as possible, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi had said after talks with Muttaqi and Dar.
The three countries had also agreed to extend the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (C-PEC) to Afghanistan, the Foreign Ministry confirmed in Islamabad.
Since their return to power, China has accepted a full-fledged ambassador from the administration in Afghanistan.
