Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has said that the joint military exercises between Pakistan and the United States on Pakistani soil were a source of concern for the region.

In an interview with a Russian media outlet, Muttaqi said that if regional and neighboring countries protect their borders, there will be no problems in Afghanistan.

He said talks between the Pakistani government and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) would be in Islamabad's interest.

“Pakistan is holding exercises with US forces, working together," Muttaqi said. “This is a concern for the countries of the region. This is not in the interest of Pakistan and the region.”

Muttaqi also claimed that Daesh does not exist in Afghanistan and the enemies use the group as a tool to discredit Afghanistan.

"Just as Russia is threatened and suffers from Daesh that goes to Russia from outside, if Afghanistan suffers from Daesh, it is Daesh that comes from outside," Muttaqi said. “So if neighboring countries and the region pay serious attention to this issue and protect their borders, there will be no problems in Afghanistan.”

Muttaqi also expressed concern over the smuggling of synthetic drugs into Afghanistan and stressed regional cooperation to fight it.

The Islamic Emirate official said that after the ban on poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, the price of opium has gone up and poppy cultivation in some neighboring countries has reached tens of thousands of hectares of land.

“The problem we are facing now is synthetic drugs that come from outside and there are different types," he said. “We are trying to resolve that as well, but the cooperation of neighboring countries is also necessary in this field.”

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to remove restrictions on women and girls in the country. 

In a post on X, Guterres said: “What is happening in Afghanistan can be compared with some of the most egregious systems of oppression in recent history.

“I join all countries & organizations demanding that the de facto authorities (Islamic Emirate government) remove all discriminatory restrictions against women & girls immediately.”

This comes in the wake of a number of decrees issued by the IEA on laws regarding women. 

The Islamic Emirate however has repeatedly said that women’s rights are protected in accordance with Sharia and that the new laws aim to protect women and girls. 

Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi says relations between Afghanistan and Russia are "historic" and in 1919, after Moscow recognized the independence of Afghanistan, the ties between the two countries became "better".

In an interview with a Russian channel, Muttaqi said that ties between the Islamic Emirate and Russia had been good over the past twenty years, during the rule of the former government.

He stated that delegations of the IEA used to travel to Moscow and participate in conferences during the 20 years of the previous regime.

He added that the relations between the two countries are currently "good".

He said that economically, Afghanistan's trade with Russia was about $55 million in 2020 and reached $359 million in 2023 and it’s increasing.

Muttaqi added that the mentioned points indicate the improvement of relations between Kabul and Moscow.