Qatar request halted operation in Afghanistan, If we can teach India lesson, these terrorists aren’t an issue: DPM
DPM Ishaq Dar speaking during a news briefing session in Islamabad on Saturday. Photo: Foreign Office
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has once again signalled that Pakistan is ready to contribute troops to a Gaza peacekeeping force if required, but categorically rejected rumours that its forces would play any role in disarming Hamas.
“A new claim is being floated that this stabilisation force will disarm Hamas. We will provide our force if required, but there will be further consultations, and our force will in no case be used to disarm Hamas,” said Dar during a news briefing at Foreign Office in Islamabad on Saturday.
Dar said that discussions on a proposed international stabilisation force for Gaza began in the United States, and Islamabad had earlier indicated it was open to examining the idea. He said Pakistan later suggested that any such force should be created under an international body, adding that Islamabad has already formed a separate eight‑nation group dedicated to Gaza.
“Pakistan supported steps aimed at improving security and humanitarian conditions in the enclave but stressed that the mandate of any mission must be clear and internationally agreed,” he added.
‘Either hand over TTP to us or relocate them far away’
Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Dar said that the UN had approached Pakistan “yesterday” to request the restoration of food and humanitarian supplies to Afghanistan.
“I have spoken to the head of the armed forces, and I will soon speak to the prime minister,” he said. “Very soon, keeping in view the suffering of ordinary Afghan people, we will allow the resumption of humanitarian aid and food supplies. This permission will be granted purely on humanitarian grounds.”
Dar said that Pakistan had made repeated and sincere efforts to improve ties with Afghanistan, but warned that Islamabad had now reached a point of “helplessness” in the face of continued cross-border terrorists attacks.
DPM said he had visited Afghanistan three times with “complete sincerity,” adding that every initiative Pakistan undertook to strengthen bilateral relations had been guided by goodwill and backed by the prime minister.
“We even upgraded the status of our diplomatic missions in Afghanistan,” he said. “There is a long list of steps we took to improve relations. We were ready—and are still ready—to do everything for them. But now we are helpless. We have already lifted the coffins of 4,000 martyrs, while 20,000 have been injured. How do I face the families of those martyrs and victims?”
He said Pakistan had the capability to respond forcefully. “If we can teach India a lesson, then this would not have been an issue,” he said. “A decisive action was being planned, but Qatar intervened. Because of Qatar’s mediation, the agreed clean-up operation against terrorists inside Afghanistan was halted.”
Dar said that the Taliban regime in Kabul was divided. “Half of the Afghan Taliban government is peace-seeking and half is trouble-seeking,” he said.
He rejected suggestions that Pakistan had closed its border crossings with Afghanistan willingly. “We did not shut our borders happily. We hosted Afghan refugees for decades,” he said.
Dar added that Iran’s foreign minister had called to propose a multilateral dialogue involving Iran, Qatar, Türkiye, Russia and other states. However, he said Pakistan could not compromise the dignity of its 240 million citizens.
“Dialogue and diplomacy are the only solutions to all problems,” Dar said. “But the Afghan Taliban regime must look into their own conduct.”
He further said that Pakistan’s seventh Strategic Dialogue with the European Union had covered all major aspects of the relationship, including trade, economic cooperation, GSP+ arrangements, regional security and developments in Afghanistan and India.
“The seventh Strategic Dialogue was extremely important. It addressed every sector of our engagement with the EU—trade, economic cooperation, GSP+, Afghanistan, security, India and other matters,” Dar said during a briefing at the Foreign Office. “We spoke openly about attacks on Pakistan from Afghan soil.”
He said he had remained in contact with senior EU representative Kaja Kallas since the Pulwama incident and the Pakistan–India escalation that followed. During the latest meeting, Dar said he briefed her on his recent visit to Afghanistan.
“I told them that I personally visited Afghanistan and discussed all issues with the Afghan leadership,” he said. “I made it clear in Kabul that Afghanistan must not allow its territory to be used against Pakistan. Either hand over the TTP to us or relocate them far away.”
Dar added that during a previous visit to China, Pakistan had agreed—at Beijing’s request—to hold a trilateral meeting with Afghanistan in Kabul, but said Kabul had shown “no signs of improvement” since 2021. “Since 2021, more than 4,000 of our personnel have been martyred in terrorist attacks,” he said.
The deputy prime minister noted that the EU communiqué referenced the situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Gaza peace agreement and Pakistan’s decades-long hosting of Afghan refugees.
“We informed the senior EU representative that we are returning Afghan refugees with complete dignity and respect,” he said.
DPM warns India over its “proxy war” against Pakistan
DPM accused India of maintaining contact with terrorists involved in the attack on the Jaffar Express, urging New Delhi to end its “proxy war” against Pakistan.
“The terrorists involved in the Jaffar Express attack were in communication with India,” he said. “India should now stop its proxy war. This proxy war is not good for anyone, especially India. Unless terrorism is fully eliminated, peace cannot be established in the world.”
Dar added that Pakistan’s position stemmed from its belief in the sanctity of human life. “We belong to a faith in which the killing of one person is akin to the killing of humanity,” he said. “If terrorists voluntarily abandon this path, that is better. Otherwise the time will come when Pakistan will have to act.”
UAE visa issue
Highlighting the visa issue with the United Arab Emirates, Dar said, “We have repeatedly raised the issue of visas with the United Arab Emirates,” adding that a large number of crimes there involve Pakistani nationals and that UAE authorities have shared relevant data with Islamabad.
“The matter of a large number of passengers being offloaded from flights has been referred to the Interior Minister, and I will speak to him once again,” he said.
Dar briefs media on diplomatic engagements
DPM durther said the last 10 to 12 days had been “extremely busy”, marked by significant diplomatic engagements in Moscow, Brussels and Bahrain. He said he departed for Moscow on November 17 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of Government Council meeting, fulfilling Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s earlier commitment that Pakistan would be represented at the summit.
Dar said Pakistan presented its position on regional connectivity, economic cooperation and trade during both the narrow-format and extended SCO sessions. He proposed that member states use local currencies for mutual transactions and also floated a proposal for an ECO Bank. Eleven decisions were adopted at the summit, after which participating leaders met Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 18. “I reminded him of the invitation for a visit to Pakistan, according to his schedule,” he said.
Dar added that the Foreign Office had already shared requests for bilateral meetings with Russian authorities, enabling him to hold separate discussions with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk. Several Russian ministers also joined the meeting with Overchuk.
He noted that Pakistan’s ambassador in Moscow had been ill with COVID-19 at the time, but said the Foreign Office and the embassy team “remained fully active”. He described the engagements with SCO and Eurasian officials as “highly positive”.
The delegation reached Brussels on November 19, where Dar said a “constructive” series of meetings took place. He said a Pakistani representative met the President of the European Union after several years, marking a resumption of high-level contact. He also held an “important, warm and candid” meeting with senior EU representative Kaja Kallas.
“This visit helped bridge the gap that had existed in our ties with the European Union,” Dar said, noting that Pakistan-EU negotiations had been stalled since 2021.
Dar also addressed regional issues, noting that Islamabad had supported Iran as a fellow Muslim country. He commented on India’s civilian nuclear investments: “If Modi has talked about investing in civil nuclear programmes, this is not a matter of concern. Civil nuclear energy programmes are expensive, and private sector investment is not a negative thing.”
