Acting Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid on Wednesday met with Ubaidur Rehman Nizamani, Pakistan's ambassador to Kabul, and said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) is ready for comprehensive cooperation in various fields with Islamabad, the ministry said in a statement.

Mujahid called Afghanistan and Pakistan "two neighboring countries" and added: “These two countries have a lot in common and these commonalities and stable relations between the two countries have made the Islamic Emirate ready for all-round cooperation in economic, commercial, and other common issues with a sense of neighborliness and mutual respect.”

In this meeting, Nizamani also emphasized the need to expand joint cooperation and strengthen bilateral relations between Kabul and Islamabad.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has agreed to testify publicly at a House of Representatives committee hearing on the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.

According to the committee, chair Michael McCaul, Blinken had committed to appear at a public hearing on December 11 to discuss the committee's investigation of the withdrawal three years ago.

The committee and the State Department have been wrangling over Blinken's appearance for months.

Panel Republicans voted in September to recommend Blinken be held in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena.

The State Department contended that the panel was provided with large amounts of information, with Blinken testifying before Congress on Afghanistan more than 14 times and the department providing nearly 20,000 pages of records, multiple high-level briefings and transcribed interviews, Reuters reported.

McCaul released a report on September 8 on the committee Republicans' investigation of the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, blasting Democratic President Joe Biden's administration for failures surrounding the evacuation.

The issue had become intensely politicized before the presidential election on November 5.

In his successful bid for a second term, Republican former President Donald Trump drew criticism for shooting a video for his campaign at Arlington National Cemetery where he appeared at a ceremony honoring troops killed in the evacuation, Reuters reported.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei has emphasized that the change of Iran's envoy to Afghanistan is quite normal, and rejected recent claims that its an indication of a reshaping of Tehran’s policy toward its neighboring country.

According to Baghaei, changes in Iran’s envoys and diplomatic and consular missions are routine and occur at specific intervals, IRNA news agency reported.

This comes two days after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appointed Alireza Bikdeli as the head of the Iranian mission in Kabul.

Bikdeli replaces Hassan Kazemi Qomi and previously served as the deputy foreign minister for consular affairs and as Iran's ambassador in Azerbaijan, Turkiye, and Cyprus.