Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has “reiterated the commitment to work with the interim Afghanistan government” on common challenges and to strengthen relations in different sectors.

He said this in a letter to caretaker Prime Minister of Afghanistan Mohammad Hasan Akhund, sources told Aaj News.

The letter comes against the backdrop of the reopening of the Torkham border to pedestrians and vehicles early Friday, more than a week after it was closed following a gun battle between frontier guards in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral.

In an interview with Voice of America Urdu, he ruled out a perception that the interim Taliban government in Afghanistan was not listening to Pakistan.

“I don’t think that there is a perception that the Taliban was not listening to Pakistan, neither there is any such thing Pakistan has some special demand related to the Taliban,” he said in an interview with the VOA Urdu which was aired on Saturday.

In the letter to Akhund, Kakar highlighted that the two countries have close brotherly relations that were rooted in religion, culture, and history.

The two nations share a porous 2,600-kilometre (1,600-mile) frontier that cuts through rugged mountains and valleys.

The two countries were neighbours, he reminded the interim Afghan PM and added he was determined to boost relations in political, security, economic, and cultural sectors.

The letter quoted him as saying that increasing regional trade and connectivity “was essential for the prosperity”. He called for achieving common goals with zeal.

Kakar expressed positive thoughts about Afghanistan.