• Jalil Abbas Jilani says ‘close-knitted’ conversation with Afghanistan has taken a ‘positive turn’
• Caretaker foreign minister says MBS visit expected soon, dates not confirmed yet

KARACHI: Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on Saturday confirmed that a demarche had been issued to the Afghan charge d’affaires following the terrorist attack on two military posts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lower Chit­ral district earlier this week.

Responding to a question during a press conference on whether the matter was being discussed with the interim Afghan government, he said: “Pakistan registered a strong protest over the incident, summoned the Afghan Cd’A in Islamabad yesterday and handed over a protest note (demarche) to him,” Dawn.com reported.

Calling the incident ‘very unfortunate’, he said Pakist­­an is taking the rise in terrorism very seriously, and it is the responsibility of Afghanistan to stop the atta­cks emerging from their soil.

Additionally, speaking on an Aaj News show, he spoke about a “close-knitted conversation” going on with Kabul to reduce terrorism and build peace between both nations, saying developments thus far were “positive” and the government was actively trying to bring the two regimes on the same page.

“Previous governments have worked to some extent in this manner, and now we’re developing the existing policy. This is a closed-room dialogue with the Afghan government and so far, only positive developments have taken place. However, there are some elements from both sides of the border that might impact the progress. But so far, we’re moving in the right direction,” he said.

MBS visit

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is expected to visit Pakistan soon, but specific dates for his arrival have not been confirmed yet, Mr Jilani revealed.

“This visit is very important for [Pakistan] in terms of economic development. We’re looking forward to having multiple deals closed. Our major focus is on agriculture, mining, energy and IT industries because we’re planning to expand the horizons in terms of growth,” he said during the interview.

Calling this impending visit a “game-changing socioeconomic development”, the caretaker FM briefly talked about the assistance Pakistan has received over the past several months from Riyadh.

“Saudi Arabia has always been there for Pakis­tan, and since the establishment of the Special Investment Facilitation Council, the involvement only intensified. So we have high hopes from the visit and we’re pretty positive that we’ll get some MoU’s signed, which is a good news for the nation,” he said.

Foreign policy priorities

When questioned about his approach to fostering positive relations with neighbouring countries India and Afghanistan, he emphasised that Pakistan is actively pursuing ‘peace’ with both na­­t­ions.

“The Indian governm­ent needs to cooperate with us on various issues, especi­a­lly when it comes to Ka­­sh­mir. I believe that without active dialogues, which benefit both of us, there will be no concrete solution,” he said.

“Our end goal is to achieve peace, and I am sure they (India and Afghanistan) also want the same,” he concluded.

Elections

Talking about the much-anticipated general elections, he said they would take place according to legal requirements and the interim government would not violate any democratic protocols. Mr Jilani emphasised that the entire caretaker government was working to ensure that the electoral process went smoothly throughout the country.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2023