ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Friday Islamabad and Baku were in the process of finalizing a memorandum of agreement to enhance security ties through cooperation in arms trade, defense infrastructure and intelligence sharing.

Asif was addressing the eighth session of the Pakistan-Azerbaijan joint commission alongside Azerbaijani Defense Industry Minister Vugar Mustafayev who is visiting Islamabad. 

There have been a series of visits by Azerbaijani officials to Pakistan in recent months, as Islamabad seeks closer ties, especially in trade and investment, with former Soviet republics and Central Asian states. 

Last July, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev visited Pakistan and announced that the two nations were working to increase bilateral trade to $2 billion.

“I’m hopeful that once we finalize our memorandums of understanding on cooperation in the field of the defense industry, we will be able to further our security ties through arms trade, defense infrastructure and sharing of intelligence,” Asif said. 

He invited Azerbaijan to join Pakistan’s Strategic Underground Gas Storage (SUGS), a critical component of energy infrastructure, and the White Oil Pipeline project that transports oil from ports to refineries and other distribution points.

Asif also suggested organizing regular trade exhibitions between the two countries to showcase local products in each other’s markets.

Last December, Pakistan waived customs and regulatory duties on imports from Azerbaijan under the Pakistan-Azerbaijan Preferential Trade Agreement. The agreement aimed to boost economic cooperation by reducing tariffs on goods like Pakistan’s sports equipment, leather, and pharmaceuticals and Azerbaijan’s oil and gas products.

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan on Thursday rejected Afghanistan’s allegations Pakistan was hosting and facilitating Daesh militant camps, calling it “weird propaganda.”

The remarks come in response to allegations by Afghan officials that Pakistan was operating training camps for Daesh fighters and facilitating their movement through the Islamabad and Karachi airports for training in its southwestern Balochistan and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces with the aim of carrying out militant activities in Afghanistan.

Islamabad also frequently accuses neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks amid a surge in militancy in its KP and Balochistan provinces. The Taliban government in Kabul says it does not allow Afghan soil to be used by militants, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter for Islamabad.

“Frankly, we completely reject these allegations. They are not grounded in reality,” Khan said during a weekly press briefing when asked about the Afghan allegations on Daesh camps. “It’s just some kind of weird propaganda.”

He reiterated Pakistan’s concern over sanctuaries of the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) in Afghanistan, accusing the country of being a source of “support and logistics” for TTP militant operations against Pakistan.

“It couldn’t do without the sanctuaries it’s enjoying in Afghanistan,” Khan added. “And we continue to impress upon the Afghan authorities to address this genuine and serious concern so that our bilateral relations can achieve full potential as good neighbors.”

Islamabad says it has consistently taken up the issue of cross-border attacks with the Taliban administration. The issue has also led to clashes between the border forces of the two countries on multiple occasions in recent months.

In December, the Afghan Taliban said bombardment by Pakistani military aircraft in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province had killed at least 46 people, most of whom were children and women. Just days later, the Afghan defense ministry said Taliban forces targeted “several points” in neighboring Pakistan, further straining tense ties. 

Relations between the two countries have also soured since Pakistan launched a deportation drive in November 2023 against illegal aliens residing in the country. Though Pakistan insists the campaign does not only target Afghans but all those residing in Pakistan unlawfully, it has disproportionately hit Afghans, with at least 800,000 repatriated so far.