He says Pakistan has “extensive kinetic capabilities”; Rules out anti-Hamas mandate in Gaza stabilization
DPM Ishaq Dar speaking during a press briefing in Islamabad on Saturday. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
ISLAMABAD:
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday revealed that Islamabad refrained from attacking terrorist sanctuaries inside Afghanistan during a planned clearance operation following direct intervention by Qatari leaders.
Dar said Islamabad was on the verge of launching a kinetic action that “surely would have taught them a lesson” but ultimately opted to back off in favor of diplomacy at the request of the friendly Gulf nation.
Speaking at the Foreign Office, he said Afghanistan’s rulers had misinterpreted Islamabad’s restraint as inability, warning that Pakistan possessed “extensive kinetic capabilities” but would not prefer to “invade a brotherly country.”
“The situation was possibly leading to that stage when this matter began. Qatar is a country whose Foreign Ministry was communicating with me every hour at that time,” he said, adding that Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister called him “hourly.”
“They found out we were about to take kinetic action. They asked ‘please stop at your side and we will mediate, take responsibility and resolve the issue.'”
Dar thanked the prime minister and the army chief for backing his position and said “the clearance operation that was about to take place that night, which would surely have taught them a lesson, was stopped.”
Despite the efforts of Qatar and Turkiye, nothing tangible emerged from the talks, leaving even the mediators “frustrated”, he added.
The revelations come as ties between Islamabad and the Taliban regime in Kabul have sunk to their lowest level since the group took over Kabul four years ago.
All formal border crossings have remained sealed since October 11, halting cross-border trade and mobility after a series of ground clashes and Pakistani airstrikes along the 2,600 kilometer border against terrorist sanctuaries responsible for the recent surge in terrorist activities in Pakistan.
Turkiye and Qatar subsequently attempted a diplomatic classification. The first Doha compromise produced a tenuous ceasefire, while the subsequent round in the Qatari capital resulted simply in a broad promise to create a mechanism to “verify compliance” and a decision to persevere in dialogue. However, the third session collapsed without any progress after the regime representatives remained stubborn.
Tensions rose once again after Kabul leveled accusations of new Pakistani airstrikes earlier this week, accusations vehemently denied by Pakistan’s security establishment and government ministers.
Referring to attacks carried out by Afghan nationals, including the killing of two American national guardsmen and attacks on Chinese workers in Tajikistan, Dar, speaking at Saturday’s press conference, warned that “the time is not far when Muslims and non-Muslims will unite to eliminate this terrorism.”
He urged the Taliban to recognize internal divisions between “peacekeepers and warmongers” and to reform before the region is forced to adopt harsher solutions.
He also said he was working on a UN request to resume humanitarian aid deliveries to Afghanistan and had obtained the army chief’s consent, leaving only the prime minister’s formal approval.
“No anti-Hamas mandate”
Commenting on the proposed multinational peacekeeping mission in Gaza, the Foreign Minister revealed that Pakistan was willing to send troops but rejected any involvement in the disarmament of Hamas.
He said Pakistan first came across the disarmament proposal during talks on two-state solution in Riyadh.
“We are not prepared for that. This is not our job, but that of the Palestinian law enforcement agencies. Our job is to maintain peace, not to impose peace,” he emphasized.
He added that Pakistan had already expressed its willingness to join the mission “in principle,” pending clarification “what its [ISF] mandate and TOR (terms of reference) will be”.
He further revealed that concerns over the ISF mandate were not unique to Islamabad.
“According to my information, if this includes the disarmament of Hamas, then even my Indonesian counterpart has informally expressed his reservation,” he said, adding that Indonesia had offered up to 20,000 troops for the mission.
He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also given “in principle” a positive response to Pakistan’s participation.
It is pertinent to note that the proposal for Pakistan to participate in the disarmament of Hamas has already sparked internal controversy. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif last month publicly denounced comments by government spokesman Danyal Chaudhry, who had suggested that the ISF would have a role in disarmament.
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s envoy to the United Nations, reiterated in the Security Council that disarmament must be “a negotiated political process” undertaken under a unified Palestinian National Authority, and that any foreign force must operate under a “clear and consistent mandate with the UN.”
Visa problems with the UAE
Discussing the Biennial Review of the European Union’s GSP+ scheme, Dar said that “almost all of our issues have been handled satisfactorily”, with only six points outstanding.
He hopes that three legislative measures will be approved in the current parliamentary session. He said he was confident that the visiting EU delegation would “give a very positive report” and expressed optimism about the outcome of the review.
Dar also acknowledged the increasing difficulties faced by Pakistanis in obtaining UAE visas, and emphasized that Islamabad had repeatedly raised concerns.
“We are not asleep. This issue has been raised many times. They have also shown that of the different nationalities involved in crime in the UAE, Pakistanis are at the top, unfortunately.”
He revealed that at one point visa restrictions had been extended to officials and ministers.
He cited mass dumping incidents and the persistence of organized begging networks involving Pakistanis in the Gulf states as causes of Emirati discontent.
“The issues will not be resolved until the issues mentioned above are addressed and eliminated,” he warned.
