FO says positive progress has been made on issues related to aspects of Islamabad MoU
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Thursday reported what it described as “positive progress” in indirect talks held in Doha between Iran and the United States, indicating that Islamabad could be the location for future rounds of negotiations.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, during his weekly press conference, said Pakistan and Qatar had held separate meetings with Iranian and American negotiators in Doha and the sides had agreed to continue discussions in the coming period.
“Positive progress was made on issues related to aspects of the Islamabad MoU, building on the Lake Lucerne Summit,” Andrabi said, adding that the next round of discussions would be scheduled after the late Iranian leader’s funeral.
The spokesman declined to reveal details of the progress made, saying the confidential nature of the talks required discretion. However, he stressed that the dialogue process had not broken down and that the mediators remained optimistic.
“We should be happy that the dialogue continues. The parties are still at the table,” he said.
Asked whether Pakistan could host the next round of negotiations, Andrabi said he could not rule out the possibility of future meetings in Islamabad, although no decision had been made on the venue.
The comments came as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Tehran on Friday to attend Ayatollah Khamenei’s funeral and convey his condolences on behalf of Pakistan.
The prime minister’s trip underscores Islamabad’s close ties with Tehran and comes amid Pakistan’s growing diplomatic role in facilitating engagement between Iran and the United States.
Pakistan and Qatar jointly mediated the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last month, which paved the way for renewed diplomatic contacts between Washington and Tehran.
The Ministry of External Affairs also used the briefing to sharpen its criticism of India for suspending the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), accusing New Delhi of trying to use water as a tool of coercion.
Andrabi said Pakistan rejected India’s efforts to link terrorism allegations to its decision to put the treaty on hold.
“The real problem is not terrorism. The real problem is the growing willingness within the Indian leadership to treat a shared international river system as a strategic asset that can be controlled, held or diverted at will,” he said.
He maintained that no country could turn Pakistan into a “barren land” by blocking its waters and insisted that Pakistan reserved the right to take all available measures to protect its interests under international law.
The spokesperson also reiterated that Pakistan remained committed to implementing the treaty and keeping communication channels open through the Indus Water Commissioners mechanism.
Regarding Afghanistan, the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated Pakistan’s concerns over the use of Afghan territory by terrorist groups carrying out attacks inside Pakistan.
Andrabi said Afghan nationals, including a terrorist arrested alive, had been involved in the recent Karachi terror attack, prompting Islamabad to summon the Afghan charge d’affaires and issue a firm statement.
Responding to questions about Pakistan’s recent cross-border attacks, he said the operations were “targeted, proportional and intelligence-based” and targeted only terrorist hideouts.
He also warned that Pakistan reserved the right to respond to provocations, including drone raids from across the border, under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
At the same time, the spokesperson acknowledged that strained relations with Kabul were affecting regional connectivity projects and said trade and economic initiatives could not advance if concerns about terrorism were not addressed.
“There is no change regarding the diplomatic status of either our envoys or the two embassies in Kabul and Islamabad,” he clarified.
