Demonstrating the Afghan government’s commitment to developing whatever productive infrastructure and agriculture programs are possible for the country and with its neighbors, Afghanistan’s Acting Commerce Minister Alhaji Nuruddin Azizi met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilan in Islamabad on Nov. 13, in trilateral talks also involving Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov. The discussion of advancing the Trans-Afghan Railway project, which will link the three countries and the Arabian Sea at Pakistan’s Port of Gwadar, took place—this despite tensions involving attacks in border areas and Pakistan’s ongoing expulsion of Afghans from its territory.
Voice of America, which published a long article, carefully listed all irritants and sources of real or potential problems between Pakistan and Afghanistan. But the Afghan Embassy, in a posting on X, said the Nov. 15 signings “centered around advancing the trans-Afg project, trilateral transit and trade, challenges to regional connectivity, and other pertinent matters.”
