The President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Monday that his country has removed the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan [IEA] from its terrorist list in order to develop economic ties with Afghanistan.

Speaking at a meeting with parliament speakers from countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Tokayev said: “Kazakhstan has removed the Taliban from the list of terrorists proceeding from the importance of developing trade and economic cooperation with present-day Afghanistan taking into account that this regime is here to stay.”

According to Tokayev, involving Afghanistan in interregional cooperation will be a priority going forward, Russia’s TASS news reported Monday.

Tokayev stressed the importance of the CSTO standing together on this matter and called on them to support his country’s initiative which was geared toward establishing a UN regional center for sustainable development in Central Asia and Afghanistan in the city of Almaty.

Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, chief of Pakistan’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) political party, on Sunday criticized the government of Pakistan for blaming Afghanistan over attacks.

Speaking at a rally in Punjab province, Rehman pointed out the irony of the government of Afghanistan being questioned over terrorism within Pakistan, and asked, “If terrorists are infiltrating from across the Afghanistan border, then where are you at the border?”

He noted that Pakistan declared a war against terrorism, yet terrorism continues to rise.

Rehman mentioned that Pervez Musharraf, the former president of Pakistan, had allowed the United States to use Pakistan’s air bases for “attacking Afghans”.

“Did they ever complain to you that why planes fly from your airports and attack us? They did not complain about your planes and your bombing. You ruined the lives of thousands of people for 20 years. You destroyed the tribes.

“Do you know that those who live in the border areas are Pakistani and they hate the institutions of their country and want to fight against the institutions of their country? Is someone else to blame for the hatred you have created against yourself?” Rehman asked.

Pakistani officials have repeatedly claimed that attacks in the country are planned in Afghanistan and their perpetrators enter Pakistan from Afghanistan.

However, the Islamic Emirate has rejected these claims and said that Afghanistan is not responsible for Pakistan’s “security failure”.

An Indonesian delegation in a meeting with Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul assured that Indonesia will cooperate with Afghanistan in the area of healthcare and will offer scholarships to students.

The delegation comprised Muhammad Yusuf Kalla, the Chairman of the Indonesian Red Crescent Society and Mosque Council, Hamid Awaludin, former minister of law and human rights, and Sudirman Said and former minister of energy and mineral resources.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said that discussions focused on the expansionof bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Indonesia, encompassing political, economic, trade, and people-to-people aspects.

Muttaqi highlighted the shared religious and cultural respect between the two nations and expressed Afghanistan’s desire to strengthen and enhance relations with its friendly and brotherly country, Indonesia.

He noted that after 45 years of war, peace has finally been established in Afghanistan, creating favorable opportunities for trade and foreign investment in sectors such as energy, mining, agriculture, road construction, and industry.

He noted that Afghanistan’s relations with the international community are expanding, and it maintains positive ties with neighboring countries and the region, adding that Afghanistan is keen on expanding its relations with Southeast Asian countries.

Muttaqi went on to say that given its strategic location, Afghanistan has established facilities in the areas of trade, investment, and transit between Central and South Asia. Additionally, it is actively engaged in major regional economic projects, including the CASA-1000 energy project, TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) pipeline, and Trans-Afghan Railway Project, he said.

Muttaqi emphasized that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has successfully tackled threats posed by Daesh and drug trafficking, assuring all countries that Afghanistan is not a threat to any nation.

According to the statement, Kalla expressed a positive evaluation of Afghanistan’s political and security situation. He expressed Indonesia’s desire to expand relations with Afghanistan across various fields and pledged to provide accurate information about Afghanistan to the Indonesian government and people.

He stated that Indonesia hopes to cooperate with Afghanistan in the field of healthcare, and offering scholarships and fellowships to Afghan students.

Both sides emphasized the importance of expanding and strengthening relations between Afghanistan and Indonesia in political, economic, trade, cultural, and educational fields.