Visiting Kabul, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin said on Monday that Astana is ready to invest $500 million in the construction of the Torghandi-Herat railway line in adding that a logistics and transport company would be established in Herat province to advance the project.

According to a press release from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, the only thing Kazakh delegation also announced readiness to launch an internet cable project that would provide Afghanistan with affordable internet access.

Zhumangarin said that Kazakh investors are ready to invest in various sectors, especially in Afghanistan’s mines, oil and gas, and their technical teams are visiting Kabul in this regard.

During the meeting, the Kazakh side expressed its readiness to issue visas to Afghan businessmen, start flights between the two countries, cooperate on banking, enhance bilateral trade, and cooperate in the health and education sectors.

Meanwhile, Mullah Baradar stressed that Afghanistan has a firm will to strengthen economic and trade relations with Kazakhstan and other countries in the region and for this purpose, it has recently signed a draft roadmap to increase the volume of trade between Kabul and Astana to $3 billion.

According to the Deputy Economic Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, with the implementation of this roadmap, there will be significant positive changes in various economic sectors such as trade, agriculture, mining, transport, transit, railway and industry and investments in these areas will increase.

Mullah Baradar said that the Islamic Emirate is ready to share investment opportunities in Afghanistan’s mines with Kazakhstan and sign agreements in the field of preservation and quarantine of agricultural and livestock products. The Deputy Prime Minister also stressed the need to expand banking relations between the two countries and joint cooperation in the development and exploration of Afghanistan’s oil fields.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that Zhao Xing, China’s ambassador to Kabul, extended an invitation to the Islamic Emirate to participate in this year’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

The invitation was extended during a meeting with Mohammad Naeem, the Deputy Minister for Finance and Administration of the Afghan Foreign Ministry.

In a statement released on Sunday, the ministry noted China’s interest in “expanding bilateral cooperation.”

The statement quoted Zhao as saying that China, as Afghanistan’s close neighbor, places “great importance on strengthening its relationship” with Afghanistan and is ready to take further steps toward developing ties between the two countries.

During the meeting, Naeem emphasized the importance of neighborly relations, saying:

“Afghanistan and China are neighboring countries, and maintaining positive relations between neighbors is essential for both sides.”

The Islamic Emirate was not invited to the SCO summit held in Islamabad on October 15–16, 2024.

Reports indicate that Afghanistan’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has been inactive since September 2021. Afghanistan became an observer member of the SCO on June 7, 2012, but has not actively participated in the organization’s activities since joining.

The 25th SCO Summit is scheduled to be held in China in the second half of this year.

The summit will offer a platform for discussions on key issues including food security, energy, the environment, and the fight against terrorism.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which represents 25% of global GDP and 40% of the world’s population, plays a key role in fostering economic, trade, and security cooperation among its member states.

In addition to the leaders’ summit, more than 40 related meetings of SCO mechanisms are expected to take place in China throughout the year.

Pakistan has set up a 24/7 hotline to assist Afghan nationals and respond to complaints of harassment during their repatriation, according to a statement issued on Sunday, amid growing criticism of Islamabad’s ongoing deportation campaign.

The decision comes a day after Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visited Kabul and met with senior Islamic Emirate officials to discuss a number of issues including the mass deportation of Afghans from Pakistan. 

“Pakistan has set up a 24/7 Federal Control Room at the National Crisis Information Management Cell (NCIMC) to assist Afghan nationals and address complaints of harassment during repatriation,” a statement noted. 

According to the statement, issued by the office of Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Sadiq Khan, the helpline service was launched in line with Dar’s commitment during his visit to Kabul. 

Dar reportedly promised that Pakistan’s interior ministry would issue a notification within 48 hours to streamline a complaints mechanism for Afghan returnees.

On Sunday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said Dar spoke with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to thank him for the hospitality extended during the visit. 

Both leaders expressed satisfaction over the outcome of their talks and agreed to “expeditiously implement the decisions taken for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries,” the ministry said

Dar also invited Muttaqi to visit Pakistan, an invitation the Afghan official accepted.

This latest move comes amid Islamabad’s drive to deport more than 800,000 Afghan refugees from the country – many of whom have lived in Pakistan for decades. 

Rights groups and Afghan officials have in recent weeks voiced concern over the treatment of refugees. Many of these refugees have reported harassment, arbitrary arrests, seizure of property and possessions and family separations. 

According to Pakistan, almost 85,000 Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan since April 1.