ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has appointed an ambassador to Afghanistan for the first time since the takeover by the Afghan Taliban in 2021.

The move indicates Islamabad`s willingness to upgrade diplomatic ties with Kabul and the relationship with the Afghan Taliban administration.

Pakistan`s chargé d`affaires in Kabul, Ubaidur Rehman Nizamani, has been designated as ambassador, according to a diplomatic source.

Another diplomatic source indicated the Taliban administration was also likely to reciprocate the move by upgrading its top envoy in Islamabad,Mawlawi Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb, to ambassadorial level.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced the decision on social media platform X on Friday.

`I am pleased to announcethe decision of the Government of Pakistan to upgrade the level of its Chargé d`Affaires in Kabul to the level of Ambassador.

`I am confident this step would further contribute towards enhanced engagement, deepen Pak-Afghan cooperation in economic, security, CT & trade areas and promote further exchanges between two fraternal countries.

Mr Dar posted the announcement during a visit to Hong Kong, shortly before meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Beijing facilitated the understanding on upgrading diplomatic relations during a trilateral meeting between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China earlier this month.Pakistan and Afghanistan had so far maintained a chargé d`affaires-level diplomatic presence in each other`s capitals since the Taliban takeover.

A chargé d`affaires is a temporary posting in the absence of a full-time ambassador.

The ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained fraught over cross-border militancy, with the former accusing the Afghan Taliban of harboring the fighters of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), blamed for a 70 per cent rise in attacks in Pakistan in 2024.

In 2022, Mr Nizamani survived an assassination attempt when an attacker opened fire at him while he was in the compound of the embassy in Kabul.

Mr Nizamani remained safein the attack in which a security guard, Sepoy Israr Mohammad, was critically injured while protecting the envoy.

The ties between the two neighbouring nations began to thaw earlier this year with Pakistan`s special envoy for Afghanistan, Muhammad Sadiq, visiting Kabul in March, followed by a high-level trip by FM Dar in April, where both sides agreed on mutual counterterrorism measures and trade facilitation.

At the informal trilateral dialogue in Beijing, the two countries also expressed readiness to enhance engagement.

The meeting, part of China`s renewed push to revive the Belt and Road-linked ChinaAfghanistan-Pakistan dialogue, added further momen-tum to the improvement of ties.

While the elevation of diplomatic relations marks a breakthrough in strained bilateral relations, Pakistani officials clarified that it does not amount to formal recognition of the Taliban regime, which has yet to gain official recognition from any country since seizing power in 2021.

The move also reflects a broader shift in regional diplomacy.

While the Taliban remain unrecognised, countries including China, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates alreadyhostTaliban-appointed ambassadors.

Russia formally accepted a Taliban ambassadorinMoscow last month.