Ties with Pakistan go beyond neighbourhood: Afghan envoy — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan says relations between the two countries go beyond neighbourhood, with geography, people-to-people ties, trade, transit and historical and security developments connecting them. Sardar Ahmad Shakib made the remarks during a speech at Pakistan’s National Defence University (NDU), according to the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad. He said the geography of Afghanistan and Pakistan was interconnected and their peoples and communities shared deep ties. Trade, transit and cross-border movement of people had also linked the two countries’ economies and societies, he added. Shakib said decades of conflict and security developments had further intertwined the security interests and calculations of the two countries. His remarks come as relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have faced challenges in recent years, particularly over trade, transit and security issues.