FM Dar to visit Kabul today for Trans-Afghan railway accord

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar will travel to Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday to sign a framework agreement about the Trans-Afghan railway project, which will connect Uzbekistan to Pakistan via Afghanistan, the Foreign Office said.

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will host the trilateral meeting, which will also be attended by Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov.

The UAP railway, first agreed in February 2021, envisages a 573-kilometer track linking Tashkent to Peshawar via Kabul, with an estimated cost of $4.8 billion.

“The Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, will undertake a day-long visit to Kabul, Afghanistan, on 17 July 2025 to sign the Framework Agreement on Joint Feasibility Study for the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Project,” a Foreign Office statement said.

Also read: Dar arrives in Kabul to ink Trans-Afghan rail project, hold bilateral meetings

The deputy PM will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising the Minister for Railways, Special Representative for Afghanistan, and Railways Secretary.

The UAP Railway Project aims to build a rail link to connect Uzbekistan with Pakistan via Afghanistan and facilitate access to Pakistani seaports for Central Asian States. By facilitating regional trade and transit, the project is expected to promote regional stability, growth and development.

This will be Ishaq Dar’s second visit to Kabul in three months. He last visited Afghanistan in April, which paved the way for improvement in relations. Foreign Office statement said that this “visit underscores the importance Pakistan attaches to the successful realization of the UAP Railway Project. The signing of the Framework Agreement on Joint Feasibility Study between the three participating countries in Kabul will be an important step towards its implementation”.

During the visit, Dar will also hold a meeting with the Afghan Acting Foreign Minister and will call on the Acting Prime Minister of Afghanistan to discuss bilateral matters and exchange views on regional and international developments.

The UAP railway project has been under discussions in recent days during meetings and telephonic contacts among the countries involved.

Activities of the long-pending project got momentum after China expressed willingness to fund the project.

Ishaq Dar confirmed in May that China has expressed its intent to finance the UAP railway project, calling it a transformative step for regional connectivity.

The DPM was speaking at a news conference in Islamabad on his return from Beijing where he attended a Pak-China-Afghan trilateral meeting at the foreign ministers level.

“We have already sent a draft framework to Uzbekistan and Afghanistan,” Dar said, adding that financing and coordination for this project has been taken up directly with China, which has responded positively.

“This project, along with the Peshawar–Kabul Highway and ML-1 upgrades, will massively boost Pakistan’s connectivity to Central Asian Republics and enhance the commercial potential of our underutilized ports,” according to Dar.

Also read: PM Shehbaz reaffirms commitment to Trans Afghan Railway Project