KABUL, Afghanistan — Pakistan’s special envoy, Muhammad Sadiq Khan, met on Saturday with Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban’s acting minister of industry and commerce, to discuss trade relations and economic cooperation between the two countries.
According to a statement from the Taliban-run Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the talks focused on resolving trade and transit challenges, insulating economic ties from political tensions, and finalizing key agreements.
Both sides emphasized the importance of holding regular bilateral meetings and normalizing trade relations amid ongoing diplomatic strains. Discussions also included the finalization of a long-delayed preferential trade agreement and issues related to the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA).
The statement said that the two sides also reviewed the upcoming visit of Pakistan’s deputy prime minister to Kabul, a planned visit by a Taliban delegation to Islamabad, and seasonal trade needs, particularly with the approach of the agricultural season.
Sadiq Khan described the meeting as a “positive and constructive step” toward strengthening bilateral ties. He stressed the need for mutual cooperation to ease export and import restrictions and to capitalize on seasonal trade opportunities.
Azizi, for his part, described Pakistan as a “strategic partner” and said it could play a pivotal role in bolstering Afghanistan’s economic development.
The meeting came amid heightened tensions between the two neighbors, driven by concerns over cross-border militancy and the forced deportation of Afghan migrants from Pakistan. Still, both governments have signaled a desire to maintain stable economic relations.
