The Pakistani Embassy in Kabul said that Afghan intelligence operatives and police have been “harassing” its diplomats and other staffers over the past few days ISLAMABAD: In a bid to defuse tensions between Islamabad and Kabul following allegations of harassment by diplomats in both countries, the head of Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency held talks with senior Afghan security officials in Kabul to resolve the matter, officials said on Tuesday. Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed’s visit follows comments by the Afghan Foreign Ministry (AFM) last week that its ambassador in Islamabad, Atif Mashal, had been “summoned and mistreated” by the ISI, describing the incident as a “clear contradiction of diplomatic norms and principles.” Pakistan has denied the allegations. Mashal, who visited Kabul after the incident for consultations with the government, has now returned to Islamabad, an embassy source told Arab News on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a statement released by the AFM on Nov. 4 called on the Pakistani government to “align its diplomatic relations with Afghanistan in compliance with international conventions and accepted diplomatic norms.” Kabir Haqmal, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib, said Mohib had met with the ISI chief and Pakistan’s deputy foreign minister on Monday and discussed several issues, including ways to normalize ties. “The issue of normalizing relations between the two countries and establishment of a technical commission for resolving the current problems ... were discussed,” he said. The Pakistani Embassy in Kabul said that Afghan intelligence operatives and police have been “harassing” its diplomats and other staffers over the past few days. Several videos and photographs shared with Arab News appear to show some of the Pakistani Embassy’s vehicles being obstructed. In retaliation, Pakistan closed its consular section citing “security reasons,” before halting visa operations in Kabul, where hundreds of people visit on a daily basis. A few days later, Pakistan restarted issuing visas but only to those dealing with a medical emergency. Commenting on the situation, an Afghan diplomat told Arab News on Tuesday that the embassy was processing visa applications as per routine. Earlier, Afghanistan had shut its consulate in Peshawar following a dispute over the ownership of an Afghan market, which Kabul says is its property despite Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruling that it was owned by a Pakistani national. Pakistan Embassy officials said that the Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood had “productive meetings” with Mohib, the Afghan intelligence chief and acting Foreign Minister Idrees Zaman on Monday. “Recent developments, including the harassment of Pakistan’s diplomatic personnel in Kabul, were discussed. It was agreed to form a technical committee to look into the matter with a view to immediately resolving it,” the embassy said. “Various aspects of Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations came under discussion. Both sides agreed to maintain close communication and identify steps to move forward on relevant issues,” it added. The two sides also agreed to hold the next meeting of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) in Kabul in December, as had been decided at a previous meeting in June in Islamabad. The APAPPS framework comprises five working groups that are focused on politico-diplomatic, military-to-military coordination, intelligence cooperation, economic and refugee issues. Pakistan’s former ambassador Asif Khan Durrani said that the visit of Pakistan’s high-level delegation reflects Islamabad’s policy to maintain tension-free relations with Afghanistan. He added that the recent diplomatic row was not a major issue as Pakistan and Afghanistan have invoked the APAPPS mechanism, which still works. “Saner elements in both sides do not want the process to derail,” Durrani, who has served as ambassador to the UAE and Iran, told Arab News on Tuesday. — With inputs from Sayed Salahuddin, Kabul correspondent