It is in the interest of Afghanistan and the world to interact with each other and broaden their engagement, the outgoing ambassador of Pakistan in Kabul, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, said this week.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Ariana News, Khan said that recognition of the Afghan government is a legal process and it has to follow a process.

“That process means that we have to have coordination with neighbors, we have to have coordination with each other in the international community because it involves important subjects, important issues relating to people of Afghanistan,” Khan said.

The issues could be political framework, human rights framework and counterterrorism approaches, he said.

 “It is in the interest of Afghanistan as well as in the interest of the world to interact with each other and to broaden this engagement,” Khan said.

The envoy said that the economic sanctions are hurting the people in Afghanistan.

“We believe this engagement has to continue and as a result if both sides try to seek a common ground addressing these issues, and the international community provide some incentives to Afghanistan for Afghan people, removing economic sanctions on Afghanistan and addressing the banking issues of Afghanistan, which are actually hurting people here, I think we can be optimistic about the progress, we can be hopeful about the progress, but giving any timeframe is very difficult for anyone,” Khan said.

On the issue of Durand Line, Khan said that instead of going into any controversial areas, Pakistan and Afghanistan have to focus on economic integration of the people on both sides.

“Our perspective is that Afghanistan and Pakistan border is an internationally recognized border. International community has also recognized this border as an international border. Afghanistan or
Afghans may have a different perspective, but the important thing is that this border is a long border connecting the two peoples, connecting the people of Afghanistan with Pakistan, and there are many people living on the border where the border is cutting across the villages and populations,” Khan said.

He continued: “I think the important thing is that instead of going into any controversial areas, Pakistan and Afghanistan have to focus on economic integration of the people on both sides, movement of the people on both sides, and all those issues can be discussed through bilateral official channels with a view to resolve them in a peaceful manner.”

On the fencing of the Durand Line, Khan said that the process stopped after the political change in Afghanistan last year, and the understanding is that if any local problem arises, it should be addressed through immediate contact between the security institutions of both sides.