Says Pakistan possesses “real kinetic capabilities”; Excludes anti-Hamas mandate in Gaza stabilization
DPM Ishaq Dar speaks during a news briefing in Islamabad on Saturday. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
ISLAMABAD:
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar revealed on Saturday that Islamabad refrained from attacking terrorist hideouts inside Afghanistan during a planned clean-up operation following a direct intervention by Qatar’s leadership.
Dar said Islamabad was on the verge of launching a kinetic action that would “certainly 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 mistaken Islamabad’s reticence as incompetence and warned that Pakistan possessed “real kinetic capabilities” but would not prefer “to invade a brother country”.
“The situation possibly led to the stage where this issue began. Qatar is a country whose foreign ministry contacted me hourly at the time,” he said, adding that Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister called him “hourly”.
“They found out that we were about to take kinetic action. They asked that ‘please stand your ground and we will mediate, take responsibility and resolve the issue’.”
Thanking the prime minister and the army chief for supporting his stand, Dar said “the clean-up operation that was about to happen that night – which would have certainly taught them a lesson – was stopped”.
Despite efforts by Qatar and Turkey, nothing tangible emerged from the talks, leaving even the mediators “frustrated”, he added.
The revelations come as ties between Islamabad and Kabul’s Taliban regime have sunk to their lowest level since the group captured Kabul four years ago.
All formal border crossings have remained sealed since October 11, halting cross-border trade and mobility following a series of ground engagements and Pakistani airstrikes along the 2,600-kilometer border against terrorist sanctuaries responsible for the latest surge in terrorist activities in Pakistan.
In the aftermath, diplomatic triage was attempted by Turkiye and Qatar. The first Doha engagement yielded a tenuous ceasefire, whereas the subsequent round in the Qatari capital merely resulted in a broad promise to create a mechanism to “verify compliance” and a decision to continue dialogue. But the third meeting fizzled out without any breakthrough after the regime’s representatives remained stubborn.
Tensions escalated once again after Kabul made allegations earlier this week of fresh Pakistani airstrikes, allegations strongly denied by Pakistan’s security establishment and government ministers.
Citing attacks carried out by Afghan nationals, including the killing of two US National Guardsmen and assaults on Chinese workers in Tajikistan, Dar, speaking at Saturday’s press conference, warned “the time is not far when Muslims and non-Muslims will unite to eliminate this terrorism”.
He called on the Taliban to recognize internal divisions between “peacemakers and warmongers” and reform before forcing the region into harsher solutions.
He also said he was working on a UN request to resume humanitarian aid deliveries to Afghanistan and had secured the army chief’s consent, with only the prime minister’s formal approval remaining.
“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 denied any involvement in disarming Hamas.
He said Pakistan first came across the disarmament proposal during the talks on the two-state solution in Riyadh.
“We are not ready for that. This is not our job, but the job of the Palestinian law enforcement authorities. Our job is peacekeeping, not peace enforcement,” he stressed.
He added that Pakistan had already expressed its willingness to join the mission “in principle”, pending clarity on “what its [ISF] mandate and TOR (remit) remain”.
Moreover, he revealed that concerns over the ISF mandate were not exclusive to Islamabad.
“According to my information, if it will include disarming Hamas, then even my Indonesian counterpart has informally expressed his reservation,” he said, adding that Indonesia had offered as many as 20,000 troops for the mission.
He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also “in principle” signaled a positive response to Pakistan’s participation.
It is pertinent to note that the suggestion that Pakistan should be involved in disarming Hamas has already ignited internal controversy. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif last month publicly condemned remarks by government spokesman Danyal Chaudhry who had suggested the ISF would have a disarmament role.
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s UN envoy, reiterated in the Security Council that disarmament must be “a negotiated political process” carried out under a unified Palestinian National Authority and that any foreign force must operate under a “clear UN-consistent mandate”.
Visa issues with UAE
Discussing the European Union’s biennial review of the GSP+ scheme, Dar said “almost all our cases have been satisfactorily handled,” with only six items pending.
He hoped that three legislative measures would be passed in the current parliamentary session. He said he was confident the visiting EU delegation would “give a very positive report” and expressed optimism about the outcome of the review.
Dar also acknowledged growing difficulties Pakistanis face in obtaining visas to the UAE, stressing that Islamabad had repeatedly flagged concerns.
“We are not sleeping. This issue has been raised many times. They have also shown evidence that of the various nationalities involved in crime in the UAE, Pakistanis are at the top, unfortunately.”
He revealed that visa restrictions had at one point been extended to civil servants and ministers.
He cited mass dumping incidents and persistent organized begging networks involving Pakistanis in the Gulf states as reasons for the Emiratis’ displeasure.
“The issues will not be resolved until the above conditions are resolved and eliminated,” he warned.
