Exclusive: Breaking Jam-log — Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar all set to travel to Kabul and Dhaka

In a bid to normalise ties with its neighbours and break the “jam-log”, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is all set to head to Kabul on Saturday (Apr 19), WION has learnt reliably.

This would be Ishaq Dar’s first visit to Kabul after taking charge as the foreign minister last year following Pakistan’s general elections.

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On the agenda would be counter terrorism co-operation, resolving border issues, talks on trade, connectivity, the TAPI gas pipeline, issue of Afghan refugees in Pakistan among many others which are set to be discussed in the meeting.

Ishaq Dar’s visit to Kabul would be the first by a Pakistani Foreign Minister to Kabul in 3 years and a second by a Pakistani Foreign Minister following Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.

The last foreign minister of Pakistan to visit Kabul was Shah Mehmood Qureshi in October 2021. In November 2022, Pakistan’s then Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar had also undertaken a visit to Afghanistan.

Pakistan and Afghanistan had recently held the Joint Coordination Committee meeting in Kabul breaking a stalemate of 14 months, the last JCC between Afghanistan and Pakistan was held in Kabul on the 16th of April where Pakistan was represented by its special representative on Afghanistan, Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar will also pay an important bilateral visit to Bangladesh this month. Sources say he is to be in Bangladesh from April 22 till the 24th. Ishaq Dar will be the first ever Foreign Minister of Pakistan to visit Bangladesh for a bilateral visit.

The last foreign minister of Pakistan to visit Bangladesh was Hina Rabbani Khar in 2012, but that was for the D-8 foreign ministers meeting.

In the run up to the Pakistani Foreign Ministers visit to Dhaka, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch visited Dhaka to lead Pakistan’s delegation for Bilateral Political Consultations with Bangladesh, a process that had been stalled since 2012 and saw a first after 13 years.

After the events of 5th of August in Bangladesh last year, there has been a rapid warming in Pak-Bangladesh relations, which includes abolishment of Visa fees for Bangladesh nationals by Pakistan, frequent calls and letters and in person meeting and exchanges between the two countries leadership.

Pakistan restored trade relations with Bangladesh when a Pakistani cargo ship arrived in Chittagong in November last year.