Ishaq Dar: Stable Afghanistan Is Crucial to Pakistan’s Security Interests
Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, has stated that a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan is in the interest of Islamabad.
Speaking at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Malaysia, he added that preventing Afghan soil from being used against Pakistan is a legitimate demand of Islamabad from Afghanistan’s caretaker government.
Dar said: “We believe that a peaceful, stable, united and prosperous Afghanistan is in our vital interest. Having made sincere efforts in Afghanistan’s interest, it is our legitimate expectation that the Afghan Interim Government would take all steps necessary to ensure that Afghanistan’s soil is not used for terrorism against any state, particularly Pakistan.”
Ghulam Mohammad Din Mohammadi, a political analyst, responded: “If you have any documents or evidence, you can present them to us and to the world. Therefore, in my view, Pakistan’s demand is baseless, as there is no credible evidence proving that TTP is present in Afghanistan.”
Meanwhile, Shafqat Ali Khan, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that in the latest meeting between Afghanistan and Pakistan held in Islamabad, Pakistan emphasized the need for serious action from Afghanistan against terrorist groups.
He stated: “The discussions covered key areas of bilateral interest, including trade and transit cooperation, repatriation of Afghan refugees, security and connectivity. Both sides recognized terrorism as a serious threat to regional peace and security.”
This is not the first time Pakistan has insisted that Afghan territory should not be used against it; Islamabad has repeatedly raised this concern in the past claims that have consistently been dismissed by Afghanistan’s caretaker government as unfounded.
