The FO says positive progress has been made on issues related to the aspects of the Islamabad MoU
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Thursday reported what it described as “positive progress” in indirect talks in Doha between Iran and the United States, signaling that Islamabad could be the venue for future rounds of talks.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said during his weekly news briefing that Pakistan and Qatar had held separate meetings with the Iranian and US negotiators in Doha and that the parties had agreed to continue discussions in the coming period.
“Positive progress has been made on issues related to the 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 funeral of the late Iranian leader.
The spokesman declined to disclose 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 mediators remained optimistic.
“We should be happy that the dialogue continues. The parties are still sitting at the table,” he said.
Asked whether Pakistan could host the next round of talks, 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 is set to travel to Tehran on Friday to attend the funeral of Ayatollah Khamenei and offer 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 Iran-US engagement.
Pakistan and Qatar jointly brokered the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last month, which paved the way for renewed diplomatic contacts between Washington and Tehran.
The State Department also used the briefing to sharpen its criticism of India over the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), accusing New Delhi of trying to use water as a coercive tool.
Andrabi said Pakistan rejected India’s efforts to link terrorism charges to its decision to suspend the treaty.
“The real problem is not terrorism. The real problem is the growing tendency of the Indian leadership to treat a shared international river system as a strategic asset that can be controlled, detained or diverted at will,” he said.
He maintained that no country could make Pakistan a “barren land” by blocking its waters and insisted that Pakistan reserves the right to take all available measures to protect its interests under international law.
The spokesman also reiterated that Pakistan remains committed to implementing the treaty and keeping communication channels open through the Indus Water Commissioners mechanism.
Regarding Afghanistan, the State Department 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 terrorist attack in Karachi, prompting Islamabad to summon the Afghan chargé d’affaires and issue a strong demarche.
Responding to questions about Pakistan’s recent cross-border attacks, he said the operations were “targeted, proportionate and intelligence-based” and were solely targeting terrorist hideouts.
He also warned that Pakistan reserves the right to respond to provocations, including drone strikes from across the border, under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
At the same time, the spokesman acknowledged that strained relations with Kabul were affecting regional connectivity projects, saying trade and economic initiatives could not move forward if terrorism issues remained unresolved.
“There is no change in the diplomatic status of either our envoys or the two embassies in Kabul and Islamabad,” he clarified.
