Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar has asked the Islamic Emirate to work together with Islamabad to strengthen bilateral relations. 

In a letter to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) prime minister Mullah Hasan Akhund, Kakar said Pakistan enjoys close fraternal relations with Afghanistan which are rooted in commonalities of religion, culture and history. 

“We are neighbours and brothers. I remain fully committed to further strengthen these relations across the entire gamut of our bilateral ties, particularly in political, security, economic and cultural domains,” he wrote. 

Kakar also stated that enhanced regional trade and connectivity remains vital for the prosperity of both countries. 

“We must work assiduously to achieve these shared goals,” he said.

This comes after Kakar on Saturday ruled out a perception that the IEA is not listening to Islamabad’s concerns.

“I don’t think that there is a perception that the Taliban (IEA) is not listening to Pakistan, neither there is any such thing Pakistan has some special demand related to the Taliban (IEA),” he said in an interview with the Voice of America Urdu (VOA Urdu).

When asked whether there were any options for strikes and drone attacks in Afghanistan were on the cards given the growing threat from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), he said: “Pakistan has the right to defence. Wherever we will feel the need for action to protect our land and people, we will take it.”

 “I will not go into specifics of the operational decisions that Pakistan can take. But when the need arises due to this threat, we will take decisions accordingly,” he added.

Pakistani officials have repeatedly claimed that the Afghan soil is used in attacks against Pakistan. IEA, however, has denied this and asked Pakistan to look for solutions inside their own territory.