Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said that Islamabad was working to "build a peaceful, prosperous and interconnected Afghanistan" on Thursday.
"Connectivity projects CASA-1000, Trans-Afghan railway, Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline (TAPI) and others are not merely economic projects, they are also strategic investments in our shared future," Kakar said during the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) summit in Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent.
Kakar's statement comes at a time when relations between the two neighboring sovereign states were experiencing frostiness over Pakistan's decision to deport thousands of Afghan refugees.
According to Pakistan government estimates, nearly 4.4 million Afghan citizens were living in the neighboring Islamic nation, out of which 1.7 million were undocumented.
Since Islamabad set a November 1 deadline for undocumented Afghans to move to their country, approximately 300,000 Afghans have left Pakistan, latest reports suggested.
The toughening of Pakistan's stance on Afghan refugees comes amid tensions between the two estranged allies after Islamabad accused Kabul of sheltering Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan* (TTP) militants.
* A terrorist organization banned in Russia and India.