Daily Times

Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar and Pakistani ambassador in Kabul Zahid Nasrullah Khan have exchanged views on the upcoming meeting of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) to discuss peace, security, economic issues and the coronavirus pandemic.

The Afghan foreign minister and the Pakistani envoy spoke about APAPPS at a time when Afghanistan recently called for invoking the mechanism when Pakistan demanded extradition of Daesh leader Aslam Farooqi, who was arrested this month. Kabul turned down Pakistani request to extradite Farooqi, a Pakistani national from Orakzai tribal district.

The APAPPS framework, which comprises five Working Groups focused on politico-diplomatic, military-to-military coordination, intelligence cooperation, economy and refugee issues, is considered as the best forum to address to each other’s concerns and to enhance cooperation in various fields.

Tension and traditional blame game has also hindered the APAPPS process, an important institutional framework in strengthening bilateral relations between the two sides. Its last meeting was held in Islamabad in June, 2019. However, Pakistani officials insist Afghanistan has not yet convened the long-pending APAPPS meeting. Afghanistan had agreed to host the meeting in December and then in January but it could not take place.

But there are high hopes the process is most likely to be reinvigorated in the wake of recent developments and the appointment of Mr Atmar as Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister, who was involved in the process as the country’s National Security Adviser during the first tenure of President Ashraf Ghani.

An Afghan foreign ministry statement said Atmar thanked Pakistan for assistance to Afghan refugees, who have been affected to the outbreak of the coronavirus and to reopen crossings.

Ambassador Khan conveyed Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s message to congratulate him on assumption of the office of the acting foreign minister.

Sources say the Afghan foreign minister floated the idea of holding the APAPPS meeting in the holy month of Ramazan, however, the meeting may not be held due to the corona pandemic.

Although no date has yet been decided for the APAPPS meeting, Kabul’s quest for discussions key issues in the bilateral forum is a positive development.

The APAPPS was established in May 2018 to provide a comprehensive and structured framework for institutional bilateral engagement between Pakistan and Afghanistan in diverse areas of cooperation.

The inaugural session of APAPPS was held in Kabul on July 22, 2018, where the two sides had agreed to synergize efforts to enhance bilateral cooperation and build trust.

Earlier, in response to Islamabad’s demand for Farooqi’s handover, the Afghan foreign ministry said Pakistan and Afghanistan could exchange information under the APAPPS that will be helpful in fight against terrorism.

Pakistani says the Daesh leader had been involved in activities in Afghanistan against Pakistani.

Farooqi was arrested nearly two weeks after Daesh claimed responsibility for carrying out a suicide attack against a minority Sikh worship place in the Afghan capital Kabul, which killed at least 25 worshippers.

Nearly 30 people were killed and over 60 others were injured in the Daesh-claimed attack on a gathering of mainly Shiite Muslims in Kabul on March 6. The group is also blamed for several attacks in Pakistan.