WORLD NEWS | Pakistan needs to reorient ties with Afghanistan beyond security: Experts

Islamabad [Pakistan]March 11 (ANI): Experts weighed in on ‘Afghan Peace and Reconciliation; Interests and Policy Options for Pakistan,’ The Nation reported.

According to Pakistani newspapers, experts have suggested that Pakistan needs to abandon the practice of promoting trade between the two neighbors as a condition of addressing security concerns, as such a plan would be counterproductive.

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Experts expressed these views during the consultation on “Peace and Reconciliation in Afghanistan; Interests and Policy Options for Pakistan” organized by Islamabad think-tank Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS) on Wednesday.

Representatives of political parties from Afghanistan and Pakistan, former diplomats, scholars, retired military officers, journalists and other Pakistan-Afghanistan affairs experts participated in the discussion.

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The consultation was the 7th in a series of discussions organized by PIPS on the Afghan peace process on the topics of “Emerging Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations; Challenges and Way Forward” and “The Emerging Afghan Situation and Its Relations with States” Close and far away. “

Experts also said that Pakistan-Afghanistan relations are more important than counter-terrorism and security issues and should be viewed in a larger context, The Nation reported.

They also urged the need for soft management of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to remove obstacles to trade activities and movement of people between the two countries.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have continued to deteriorate since the Taliban regained control of the country. Recently, Afghan national Faiz Mohammad died in Randi Prison in Karachi. She was reportedly seriously ill in prison, according to the Khaama Press in Afghanistan.

Mohammad, an Afghan citizen, was arrested by Karachi police last month for failing to provide legal residence documents.

Earlier this week, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested five Afghan citizens from Peshawar airport during the immigration process. The arrested Afghan citizens were all about to board an international flight to London with fake Afghan passports.

Those arrested have been handed over to the anti-trafficking unit for further investigation, Khaama Press reported.

The Afghan consulate in Karachi said in January that at least three Afghan refugees had died in Pakistani prisons in the past three months, Afghanistan-based TOLO News reported.

This is because Afghan refugees in Pakistan have complained about mistreatment by the country’s police.

Pajhwok Afghan News recently reported that Pakistani troops tortured and harassed Afghans passing through the Spin Boldak-Chaman gate.

The Spin Boldak-Chaman Gate, also known as The Friendship Gate, is located on the Durand Line (Pak-Afghan border).

Passengers bound for Pakistan say the Pakistani army misbehaved them, keeping them waiting for hours and blackmailing them under various pretexts.

More than 20,000 people cross the Spin Boldak-Chaman border between the Afghanistan and Pakistan borders every day for trade, medical and other purposes. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)