PESHAWAR:
Former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq has called on Muslim countries to put lasting peace before conflict, warning that even the apparent winner in any war between two Islamic nations eventually suffers defeat.
Speaking at a political dialogue titled ‘The Pakistan-Afghanistan Conflict and Its Regional Impacts’, organized here on Friday by the Institute of Islamic Studies (IRS), Sirajul Haq warned that rising tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan would hit the Pashtun population on both sides of the border harder and further damage their already fragile economies.
He hinted at outside interference, stating that certain global powers do not want to see stability between the two neighboring Muslim states.
“Dialogue is the only way forward,” he stressed. “All disputes must be resolved through negotiations. Sustainable peace in the region can only be achieved through diplomatic engagement, not confrontation.”
Lawyer Mohammad Ali Saif, a senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former information adviser, criticized Islamabad’s handling of relations with Kabul. He said Pakistan should have established timely and effective diplomatic channels with Afghanistan, but political points scored by both sides had derailed meaningful talks and deepened mistrust.
“The people of both countries do not want war,” Saif said, urging leaders on both sides to immediately reduce tensions. He warned that excluding Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa from the negotiation process would make lasting peace almost impossible, given the province’s direct interest in cross-border issues.
Saif also took aim at the federal government’s diplomatic approach, saying the issues with Afghanistan were never addressed seriously or through sustained high-level engagement. The lack of direct high-level exchanges, he added, had only widened the gulf between the two nations.
Criticizing the Afghan Taliban, Saif said the group had not fulfilled its commitments and appeared to be acting under external pressure, which had contributed to rising tensions. However, he expressed cautious optimism that sincere dialogue could still resolve differences if both sides showed genuine commitment.
Earlier, IRS Chairman Dr Mohammad Iqbal Khalil and journalist Tahir Khan also addressed the meeting. All speakers unanimously called for immediate negotiations, emphasizing that regional peace is inseparably linked to mutual stability and cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Speakers highlighted Pakistan’s decades-long hosting of millions of Afghan refugees as a remarkable example of generosity rarely seen in the world. They concluded that the time had come for both nations to move beyond conflict and embrace dialogue, cooperation and peace as the only path to long-term prosperity.
