Pakistan's defense minister was in Afghanistan on Wednesday, meeting with officials there in an effort to resolve this week's closure by the Taliban administration of a key border crossing between the two neighboring countries, officials said.
Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif's trip to Kabul and his meeting with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban-appointed deputy prime minister for economic affairs, comes as tensions have increased between Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent months.
For Pakistan, the crossing is a vital commercial artery and a trade route to Central Asian countries. But Islamabad has also accused the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuary for Pakistani militants whose cross-border attacks into Pakistan have led to a spike in violence in the region. In Kabul, a statement issued by Baradar's office about Asif's visit said the two sides discussed the current situation at the crossing.
“The Pakistani side assured the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan that it would resolve solving the mentioned issues and ... work quickly on this matter," the statement said. Baradar also stressed it was important “to separate commercial and economic issues from political and security issues so that it does not become prey to politics."
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