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Afghanistan ready to expand its ties and cooperation with ECO: FM Muttaqi
The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate, Amir Khan Muttaqi, took part for the first time in the 29th Meeting of the ECO Council of Foreign Ministers, which was hosted by Kazakhstan and held online, stating that Afghanistan is ready to expand its relations and cooperation with the organization.
According to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in this online meeting Amir Khan Muttaqi discussed and exchanged views on the four-year achievements of the Islamic Emirate in the security, economic, and trade sectors, the extensive fight against narcotics, and also Afghanistan’s important geographical position in the context of regional connectivity.
Muttaqi added that Afghanistan is prepared to broaden its relations and cooperation with ECO and the regional countries in various areas.
He emphasized: “Member countries can take advantage of Afghanistan’s diverse economic and commercial capacities and opportunities within the framework of this organization.”
The member states considered the expansion of relations with Afghanistan important and praised the efforts of the Islamic Emirate in combating narcotics and its progress in the area of economic stability.
In this meeting, the regional countries also stressed that major regional projects in the sectors of transport, agriculture, and trade should be implemented jointly, and that joint efforts should be undertaken regarding climate change.
The Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan described Afghanistan as an inseparable member of ECO and introduced Afghanistan as the closest and most effective route for trade and transit to South Asian countries.
The meeting concluded after approving the 2026 budget, evaluating the Secretariat’s one-year activities, and deciding on the date and venue of the next meeting.
The spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Zabiullah Mujahid announced on Wednesday that the security and defense forces of the Islamic Emirate will temporarily halt the “Rad al-Zulm” defensive operation on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr and also at the request of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar.
Zabiullah Mujahid said in a post on X: “The Islamic Emirate, while appreciating the goodwill of friendly and mediating countries, emphasizes that maintaining Afghanistan’s national security, territorial integrity, and the safety of Afghan lives is its national and religious duty, and it will bravely respond to any aggression in case of a threat.”
Meanwhile, Ataullah Tarar, Pakistan’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting, also announced that Pakistan has temporarily suspended its attacks on Afghanistan for Eid al-Fitr at the request of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey.
A UN official told Reuters on Wednesday that the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) estimated the number of victims of the bombing of Kabul’s Omid hospital by Pakistan at 143 dead.
However, health officials in Afghanistan had earlier reported that the attack killed more than 400 people and injured 265.
Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai has accused Pakistan of trying to create “anarchy and weakness” in Afghanistan, following a deadly airstrike on Kabul.
In an interview with UK’s Sky News, Karzai said Islamabad’s policies were aimed at keeping Afghanistan unstable and “downtrodden,” warning that such an approach would harm both countries.
He condemned the recent strike on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, which Afghan officials say killed around 400 people, describing it as an “extremely unfortunate event” in the history of relations between the two neighbours.
Karzai said he personally heard the explosion, describing a “horrific sound” that shook his home and filled the surrounding area with smoke and dust.
The former leader, who governed Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, said tensions between the two countries are longstanding, claiming Pakistan has struggled to maintain stable relations with successive Afghan governments.
He urged Pakistani leaders to change course and pursue a more constructive relationship, saying past strategies of interference and destabilisation had failed and would not succeed in the future.
Fighting between the two countries has intensified since late February, when Pakistan launched airstrikes it says targeted militant infrastructure. The United Nations estimates the violence has displaced more than 100,000 people.
Pakistan has denied targeting civilians, insisting its operations were aimed at militant sites and accusing Kabul of spreading “misleading” claims to deflect from alleged cross-Durand Line threats.
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