Afghanistan, Pak aim to upgrade diplomatic ties

Pakistan and Afghanistan plan to upgrade their diplomatic ties, China said yesterday after hosting an informal meeting between Islamabad and the Afghan Taliban administration following several outbreaks of violence.

The neighbours agreed in principle to send ambassadors to each other's country as soon as possible, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said after his talks with Afghanistan's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Pakistan's FM Ishaq Dar.

The two countries "clearly expressed" willingness to upgrade the level of their diplomatic relations, Wang said according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement. "China welcomes this and is willing to continue providing assistance for the improvement of Afghanistan-Pakistan relations," he said.

In December, the Afghan Taliban said bombardment by Pakistani military aircraft in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province had killed at least 46 people, most of whom were children and women. Pakistan has not confirmed the strikes but has said that it is carrying out "anti-terrorist operations" against militants it blames for attacks in Pakistan and who it says have safe havens in Afghanistan, a charge that Kabul denies.