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MoFA objects to ongoing comments by Pakistani minister over kidnapping
The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has raised concerns about the continued remarks by the Pakistani Minister of Interior, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad.
According to a statement issued by MoFA, it has once again expressed its deep concern “over the continuation of the unprofessional remarks of the Minister of Interior of Pakistan in connection with the abduction of the daughter of Afghan ambassador in Islamabad”.
“While the investigation process has not yet been completed and the perpetrators have not been arrested, the continuation of unilateral statements and unprofessional prejudices will call into question the transparency of the investigation and increase distrust,” the statement read.
According to MoFA, mental and physical torture of the ambassador’s daughter has been recorded in a hospital report. Based on this report, MoFA said “we expect unprofessional prejudices to be avoided before the investigation is completed, and instead all efforts will be made to obtain evidence and complete the investigation process, as well as to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators”.
MoFA also stated it is committed to fully cooperating in the investigation and hopes that the reasons for the incident and the results of the investigation, based on the findings of the delegations of the two countries, will be completed and announced soon.
The daughter of Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, Silsila Alikhil was briefly kidnapped and injured by unknown assailants on Friday in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
At the time, Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said she was “severely tortured” and later said senior diplomats including the ambassador had been recalled.
Pakistani officials said Silsila Alikhil, who is in her 20s, was assaulted by assailants who got into a car she was travelling in and beat her up.
After her release she was treated in hospital.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister said on Sunday however that according to the investigation, there was no case of abduction and claimed the Afghans and Indians are trying to “twist the facts”. He said the kidnapping was an “international conspiracy”.
Again on Tuesday, Ahmed accused Afghanistan and India of “distorting” the facts related to the kidnapping, Dawn News reported. Addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi, the minister said the incident was not a kidnapping and is part of a series of attempts to defame and destabilise Pakistan.
A high-ranking Uzbek delegation comprising government officials and private sector representatives from the Republic of Karakalpakstan arrived in Kabul on Saturday to discuss the expansion of trade and economic cooperation with Afghanistan.
The delegation is headed by Amanbay Orinbayev, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Karakalpakstan.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the delegation is expected to hold talks with Nooruddin Azizi, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, focusing on strengthening bilateral trade and economic relations.
The ministry said the visiting delegation will also participate in trade connectivity meetings and business-to-business sessions aimed at enhancing commercial cooperation between the two sides.
As part of the visit, the Uzbek delegation is also scheduled to travel to Balkh province, where members will attend additional trade meetings and inaugurate an exhibition showcasing Uzbekistan’s domestic products.
Hamid Karzai, former president of Afghanistan, has expressed concern over recent developments along the Durand Line, saying Pakistan has increased military and economic pressure on villages and residents living near the line.
In a statement, Karzai said the apparent purpose of these pressures is to push residents of Durand Line areas to seek help from Pakistani institutions for resolving security and other local issues.
He added that, amid this situation, some tribal elders from both sides of the Durand Line recently signed documents described as “peace agreements,” which were later officially welcomed by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Karzai, these developments amount to an effort by Pakistan to legitimize the Durand Line and represent an action against Afghanistan’s national sovereignty.
The former Afghan president also urged the relevant Afghan authorities to provide the public with a clear explanation regarding the recent agreements and developments along the Durand Line.
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SAARC failure pushes Pakistan toward trilateral ties with Afghanistan, China, Bangladesh: Dar
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has said that the failure of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is pushing Pakistan toward exploring trilateral cooperation frameworks involving Afghanistan, China, and Bangladesh.
Speaking at the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) Conference in Lahore on Friday, Dar said SAARC has “unfortunately not been able to kick off,” limiting regional economic integration and cooperation.
He said Pakistan is now looking at alternative regional arrangements to strengthen economic connectivity and trade, including trilateral formats such as China–Pakistan–Afghanistan and China–Pakistan–Bangladesh.
Dar stressed that South Asia cannot remain in “isolation,” noting that the region, home to nearly two billion people, is missing significant economic opportunities due to weak cooperation among neighbouring countries.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established in 1985 to promote economic and regional integration among South Asian countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
The organisation was designed to encourage cooperation in areas such as trade, development, education, and cultural exchange. However, in recent years, SAARC’s effectiveness has been significantly limited due to political tensions between member states, particularly between India and Pakistan, leading to stalled summits and reduced regional engagement.
As a result, regional economic cooperation in South Asia has largely remained underdeveloped compared to other regional blocs around the world.
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