Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to deepen ties, continue dialogue amid deportation row

Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to continue their engagement, strengthen mutually beneficial ties, and maintain high-level exchanges to further deepen bilateral relations, a statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) said Saturday.

The understanding was reached during a meeting between Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Afghan Prime Minister Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund in Kabul. Dar arrived in the Afghan capital earlier today for a day-long visit at the invitation of Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

The meeting with Taliban officials comes amid Pakistan’s ongoing deportation drive, under which more than 85,000 Afghans have been expelled in just over two weeks.

According to the FO, Dar met with the acting Afghan premier as both sides discussed key issues of mutual interest -- including security, trade and transit cooperation -- and explored ways to enhance people-to-people contacts.

Reaffirming their commitment to continued engagement, the two sides agreed to sustain high-level exchanges to strengthen relations between the “brotherly countries”.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar met with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul on Saturday, as part of a series of high-level meetings during his day-long visit to the Afghan capital.Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Islamabad has launched a campaign to evict over 800,000 Afghans by the end of April — many of whom have had their residence permits cancelled, including some born in Pakistan or living there for decades.

Convoys of Afghan families have been heading to border crossings each day fearing raids, arrests or being separated from family members.

'Afghan immigrants won't be mistreated,' Pakistan assures Kabul

In a statement, Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said its foreign minister emphasized the Islamic Emirate’s commitment to fostering positive, respectful relations with all countries, including Pakistan, under its balanced and economy-driven foreign policy. He also expressed interest in expanding trade, transit, and joint projects with Pakistan, urging concrete steps to resolve outstanding issues.

He voiced concern over the forced deportations of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and called on Islamabad to ensure the protection of their rights.

In response, Dar assured that Afghan immigrants would not face mistreatment. He stressed their properties and assets are legally theirs and must not be confiscated, pledging that Pakistan’s security agencies would prevent any arbitrary actions against them.

He invited the Afghan Foreign Minister to Pakistan to sustain high-level engagement. Dar said Pakistan had reduced tariffs on many goods to boost trade and would take further steps to ease the movement of commercial goods.

The meeting also covered enhancing diplomatic coordination, easing visa processes, accelerating agricultural trade, and progressing key projects like TAPI. Both sides agreed to form joint committees to follow up on the discussions and work toward practical solutions.

Earlier, Dar was welcomed at the Kabul airport by the Afghan deputy minister for financial and administrative affairs, Mohammad Naeem, according to a video shared by Pakistan's FO.

Dar meets Afghan counterpart

Dar also met with Acting Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Salam Hanafi to discuss matters of mutual interest, including peace, security, and people-to-people ties.

Both sides agreed to strengthen bilateral trade, transit, and economic cooperation for the mutual benefit of their people, the FO said.

They also pledged to remain engaged in unlocking the full potential of regional economic development, particularly through trans-regional connectivity projects.

‘No leniency in deportations’

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Deputy Interior Minister Tallal Chaudhry, speaking at a press conference on Friday, reiterated the government's firm stance: “There will not be any sort of leniency or extension in the deadline.”

"When you arrive without any documents, it only deepens the uncertainty of whether you're involved in narcotics trafficking, supporting terrorism, or committing other crimes," he added.

Chaudhry has previously accused Afghans of being "terrorists and criminals", but analysts say it is a politically motivated strategy to put pressure on Afghanistan's Taliban government over escalating security concerns.

He said on Friday that nearly 85,000 Afghans have crossed into Afghanistan since the start of April, the majority of them undocumented.

The United Nations' refugee agency said on Friday more then half of them were children -- entering a country where girls are banned from secondary school and university and women are barred from many sectors of work.

Second phase of deportations

The United Nations says nearly three million Afghans have taken shelter in Pakistan after fleeing successive conflicts.

Pakistan was one of just three countries that recognized the Taliban's first government in the 1990s and was accused of covertly supporting their insurgency against NATO forces.

But their relationship has soured as attacks in Pakistan's border regions have soared.

Last year was the deadliest in Pakistan for a decade with Islamabad accusing Kabul of allowing militants to take refuge in Afghanistan, from where they plan attacks.

The Taliban government denies the charge.

In the first phase of deportations in 2023, hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghans were forced across the border in the space of a few weeks.

In the second phase announced in March, the Pakistan government cancelled the residence permits of more than 800,000 Afghans, warning those in Pakistan awaiting relocation to other countries to leave by the end of April.

More than 1.3 million who hold Proof of Registration cards issued by the UN refugee agency have been told to leave Islamabad and the neighboring city of Rawalpindi.

With additional input from AFP