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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government this week offered the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) as a gateway for Bangladesh’s regional trade with China and Central Asian states, state media reported, as Islamabad eyes renewed trade with Dhaka amid a thaw in ties. 

The development took place during the ninth session of the Pakistan-Bangladesh Joint Economic Commission (JEC) organized in Dhaka on Monday after a hiatus of 20 years. The session was co-chaired by Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Bangladesh’s Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed. 

Both sides signed the Agreed Minutes of the JEC, reflecting progress in trade, investment and industries, agriculture, transport and communications, education, information technology, health, tourism, energy and other sectors. 

“The two sides emphasized the importance of enhancing cooperation between the national shipping corporations, with Pakistan offering the use of Karachi Port Trust as a gateway for Bangladesh’s trade with regional countries, including China and the Central Asian States,” Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID) reported on Monday. 

Pakistan and Bangladesh also agreed to work actively on establishing direct air connectivity, recognizing its vital role in promoting tourism and business exchanges, PID said. 

The two sides also signed an agreement on cooperation in halal trade between the Pakistan Halal Authority and the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute, paving the way for enhanced collaboration in standardization and certification of halal products.

“Both sides agreed to cooperate in the areas of medical and religious tourism, and to promote greater cultural exchanges between the two countries,” PID said. 

Pakistan and Bangladesh have signaled a gradual easing of historic tensions in recent months, with regular exchanges between the two countries political and military leadership, ever since the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. 

Pakistan and Bangladesh were once one nation, but they split in 1971 after a bloody civil war, which saw the part previously referred to as East Pakistan seceding to form the independent nation of Bangladesh.

In the years since, Bangladeshi leaders, particularly Hasina, chose to maintain close ties with India, Pakistan’s arch-rival. Ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh have warmed up since Hasina’s ouster as a result of a student-led uprising in August 2024, with both sides cautiously reopening diplomatic channels.

This February, Bangladesh resumed direct trade with Pakistan for the first time since its independence in 1971, with the first shipment of 50,000 tons of rice leaving Pakistan’s Port Qasim under a government-to-government deal.
 

ISLAMABAD: A deadlock between Pakistan and Afghanistan persists as the Kabul administration has not given an “encouraging response,” a Pakistani security official said on Tuesday, as both neighbors engage in peace talks in Istanbul. 

Delegations from Pakistan and Afghanistan have been holding peace talks since Saturday in Istanbul after the two countries engaged in the worst fighting in decades, leaving dozens dead and several wounded earlier this month. Clashes erupted after Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Kabul earlier this month as it went after the Pakistani Taliban that Islamabad alleges operate from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. The Taliban responded with attacks on Pakistani military posts along the length of the 2,600 km (1,600 miles) contested border. 

The two sides agreed to a ceasefire in Doha on Oct. 19, mediated by Turkiye and Qatar, and agreed to hold talks in Istanbul on Oct. 25 to hammer out a lasting truce. Pakistan has sought assurances from Afghanistan that it would not let militants, especially the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) outfit, operate from its territory. Kabul wants Islamabad to respect its territorial sovereignty and refrain from carrying out strikes against it. 

“The Pakistani delegation has repeatedly emphasized that acceptance of these demands serves everyone’s interests,” a Pakistani security official, requesting anonymity, said. “Host countries have also conveyed the same message to the Afghan side. However, the Kabul administration has given no encouraging response, causing a deadlock.”

The official said the Afghan delegation recognizes the validity of Pakistan’s demands but is “not fully willing” to accept them. He said the Afghan delegation is repeatedly consulting the Kabul administration and acting on its instructions. 

“It would be fair to say the delegation is being controlled from Kabul,” the official said, adding that the Pakistani delegation’s position remains “logical, firm and vital for peace.”

Afghan state broadcaster Radio Television of Afghanistan (RTA) said in a report on Monday that “most issues have been resolved” between Pakistan and Afghanistan during the ongoing talks, with a few points expected to be finalized.

However, in its latest report, the RTA said the Afghan delegation attempted to have “result-oriented” discussions with Islamabad but the Pakistani side remains “unwilling to engage seriously.”

“Reports indicate that certain circles within the Pakistani military establishment are obstructing the negotiation process,” the RTA said. “As a result, the Pakistani delegation has demonstrated incompetence and seems inclined to withdraw rather than present substantiated arguments at the negotiating table.”

It said Kabul’s stance during the talks has remained that it cannot prevent attacks inside Pakistan nor represent the TTP, describing it as an “internal issue rooted in Pakistan’s own past and must be resolved by Islamabad itself.”

“The Islamic Emirate has reaffirmed that Afghanistan’s territory will not be used against any other country and has called on all sides to put forward balanced, logical, and reasonable demands,” the state broadcaster said. 

While the two sides engage in talks in Istanbul, tensions remain high at the border. Clashes between Pakistan and the Pakistani Taliban over the weekend killed five Pakistani soldiers and 25 militants near the border with Afghanistan, the military said on Sunday.