Islamabad: Pakistan and Afghanistan have reiterated their commitment to the $4.8 billion Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Line Project — a transformative regional connectivity initiative designed to link Central Asia to Pakistan’s southern ports through Afghanistan.
In a phone conversation held on Sunday, Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar agreed to accelerate efforts toward finalizing the framework agreement for the railway project, according to a statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Office.
The UAP railway is a trilateral initiative involving Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The 573-kilometre line will connect Tashkent with Peshawar via Kabul and is expected to significantly enhance regional trade by opening direct routes from landlocked Central Asian nations to Pakistan’s deep-sea ports in Gwadar and Karachi.
A day prior, Minister Dar also held discussions with Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov to coordinate preparations for the signing of the agreement, in consultation with Afghan authorities.
During the call with Muttaqi, Dar welcomed Afghanistan’s decision to restore ambassador-level diplomatic ties with Pakistan. This follows Islamabad’s recent move to upgrade its diplomatic mission in Kabul from chargé d’affaires to ambassador-level — a gesture now reciprocated by Kabul. Both sides hailed the development as a positive step toward improving bilateral relations.
Muttaqi described the mutual appointment of ambassadors as a “very positive development” and expressed hope for stronger collaboration going forward. The two ministers also reviewed progress on commitments made during Dar’s recent visit to Kabul on April 19 and reaffirmed the need to foster trust and long-term cooperation.
While both countries have maintained embassies in each other’s capitals, they had been operating under lower-level diplomatic representation. The move to reinstate ambassadors signals a broader effort to stabilise relations and support shared regional projects.
China was the first to accept an ambassador from the Taliban-led government in Kabul, despite the lack of formal international recognition. The UAE and a few other nations have since followed suit.
The UAP Railway is widely seen as a strategic pillar of economic collaboration across the region and a key component of Pakistan’s vision to expand trade, connectivity, and regional integration across Central and South Asia.
