Peace in Afghanistan necessary for regional stability, says Pakistani envoy amid surging tensions

Peace in Afghanistan necessary for regional stability, says Pakistani envoy amid surging tensions
Pakistan’s special envoy Muhammad Sadiq Khan (left) meets Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul on March 22, 2025. (AmbassadorSadiq/X)
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Updated 23 March 2025
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Peace in Afghanistan necessary for regional stability, says Pakistani envoy amid surging tensions

Peace in Afghanistan necessary for regional stability, says Pakistani envoy amid surging tensions
  • Muhammad Sadiq Khan is on a three-day visit to Afghanistan to discuss bilateral matters amid surging militancy 
  • Army says 16 militants attempting to enter Pakistan via Afghanistan gunned down in North Waziristan district

ISLAMABAD: Peace and progress in Afghanistan are necessary for regional stability, Pakistan’s special envoy Muhammad Sadiq Khan said on Sunday, amid rising tensions between the neighboring countries due to militancy. 

Khan, Pakistan’s special representative to Afghanistan, is on a three-day visit to the country to discuss bilateral matters with Afghan officials. His visit takes place amid tense relations between the two countries due to a mix of security, political and border issues, with Islamabad accusing the Taliban-led interim government in Kabul of providing safe haven to anti-Pakistan militant groups facilitating cross-border attacks. Kabul has denied the allegations.

The friction escalated after a recent targeting of a passenger train in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, claimed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). Pakistani officials said the BLA fighters remained in contact with “handlers” based in Afghanistan during the attack that lasted for two days and involved hundreds of hostages.

“Peace and progress in Afghanistan is essential for regional stability,” Khan was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s embassy in Kabul on the occasion of Pakistan’s Republic Day. 

“Pakistan and Afghanistan must synergize their efforts to foster regional economic development.”




Pakistan’s special envoy, Muhammad Sadiq Khan, attends the flag hoisting ceremony at Pakistan's embassy in Kabul on March 23, 2025, on Republic Day. (Muhammad Sadiq Khan/X)

The Pakistani envoy described Afghanistan as “one of the most important regional partners” of his country, stressing the need for both to work together to enhance bilateral trade and regional connectivity. 

“Pakistan remains committed to a strong and mutually beneficial bilateral relationship with Afghanistan,” Khan said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s military said in a statement on Sunday that it gunned down 16 militants who attempted to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan on the night between Mar. 22-23 in the North Waziristan district. 

“Pakistan has consistently been asking Interim Afghan Government to ensure effective border management on their side of the border,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said.

“Interim Afghan Government is expected to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by Khwarij for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan.”

The ISPR said Pakistan’s security forces are committed to securing its borders and eliminating “terrorism” from the country.

Pakistan’s ties with Afghanistan were also strained after the former launched a nationwide deportation campaign targeting undocumented foreigners, mostly Afghans, in November 2023, shortly after a series of deadly suicide bombings that officials blamed on Afghan nationals.

The move, which added to diplomatic tensions between the two countries, has so far led to the repatriation of more than 800,000 Afghans. Many of them had lived in Pakistan since fleeing the Soviet invasion of their country in 1979.

The Pakistani government earlier this month also directed Afghanistan Citizen Card holders to leave the country by March 31, warning they would face deportation if they failed to comply.


Trump says India, Pakistan will resolve tensions ‘one way or another’

Trump says India, Pakistan will resolve tensions ‘one way or another’
Updated 10 sec ago
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Trump says India, Pakistan will resolve tensions ‘one way or another’

Trump says India, Pakistan will resolve tensions ‘one way or another’
  • The US president says there have always been tensions between the two countries
  • Trump declines to say if he would get in touch with Indian and Pakistani leaders

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE: India and Pakistan will figure out relations between themselves, US President Donald Trump said on Friday as tensions soared between the two neighboring countries after an attack in India’s Kashmir region that was the worst in nearly two decades.
Trump, speaking to reporters on Air Force One, cited historical conflict in the disputed border region and said he knew both countries’ leaders, but did not answer when asked whether he would contact them.
“They’ll get it figured out one way or the other,” he said as he traveled aboard his plane. “There’s great tension between Pakistan and India, but there always has been.”
On Tuesday, 26 men were killed at a tourist site in Kashmir, shot dead in a meadow. India has said there were Pakistani elements to the attack, a claim Islamabad denies.
Both India and Pakistan have claimed the region of Kashmir, and have fought two wars over the area.
Relations between the two South Asian nations have deteriorated in the days following the attack, with India setting aside a critical water sharing pact and Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines. Their trade is also at risk.
On Friday, Indian stock markets fell on fears of fresh tensions as Indian authorities searched for militants in the region, before markets recovered some losses.


Pakistan confirms new polio case in northwest, bringing 2025 total to eight

Pakistan confirms new polio case in northwest, bringing 2025 total to eight
Updated 26 min 56 sec ago
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Pakistan confirms new polio case in northwest, bringing 2025 total to eight

Pakistan confirms new polio case in northwest, bringing 2025 total to eight
  • The country has launched a week-long anti-polio drive to immunize over 45 million children
  • Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two polio-endemic countries throughout the world

KARACHI: Pakistan’s polio eradication program confirmed a new case of the disease in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, bringing the total count to eight as the nationwide drive to inoculate millions of children continues.
Pakistan launched a campaign earlier this week to vaccinate over 45 million children against polio. The country reported 74 cases in 2024 and has planned three major vaccination drives in the first half of this year.
The current campaign is the second of 2025, with a third set to begin from May 26 to June 1.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health Islamabad has confirmed a polio case from District Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the lab said in a statement, adding this was the third case from the province this year.
It also urged parents to ensure that their children receive repeated doses of the polio vaccine to protect them from the disease.
On Wednesday, two security officials assigned to protect a polio vaccination team were killed in a gun attack in the Teri area of Mastung, in the southwestern Balochistan province.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the last polio-endemic countries in the world. In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually, but by 2018, the number had dropped to eight. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan’s polio eradication program, launched in 1994, has faced persistent challenges, including vaccine misinformation and resistance from some religious hard-liners who claim immunization is a foreign conspiracy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage.
Militant groups have also repeatedly targeted and killed polio vaccination workers. Last week, gunmen attacked a vehicle and abducted two polio workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
On April 21, a militant was killed when a police team escorting a polio team on the outskirts of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan district, responded to a gun attack.


Security forces kill six militants in Pakistan’s northwest

Security forces kill six militants in Pakistan’s northwest
Updated 53 min 5 sec ago
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Security forces kill six militants in Pakistan’s northwest

Security forces kill six militants in Pakistan’s northwest
  • Four other militants were injured in the intelligence-based operation carried out in Bannu district
  • Pakistan PM praises the security forces following the raid, acknowledging their professionalism

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s security forces killed six militants during an intelligence-based operation in the northwestern district of Bannu, the military said on Friday, amid a spike in attacks in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan.
Authorities blame the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of various militant factions, for much of the violence directed against the civilians and security forces in the area.
Pakistani officials refer to TTP fighters as “khwarij,” a term rooted in early Islamic history used for an extremist sect that declared other Muslims apostates.
“On night 23/24 April 2025, Security Forces conducted an intelligence based operation in Bannu District on reported presence of Khwarij,” the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations, said in a statement.
“During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij location and after an intense fire exchange, six khwarij were sent to hell, while four khwarij got injured,” it added.
The statement informed a “sanitization operation” was underway to eliminate any remaining militants, adding that security forces were determined to eradicate militancy from the country.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the security forces following the raid, acknowledging their professionalism and resolve.
“The nefarious designs of terrorists, who are enemies of humanity, will continue to be crushed,” he said in a separate statement circulated by his office, vowing that Pakistan’s fight against militancy would persist until it was completely eradicated.


Pakistan’s deputy PM briefs Saudi FM on response to India’s actions after Kashmir attack

Pakistan’s deputy PM briefs Saudi FM on response to India’s actions after Kashmir attack
Updated 25 April 2025
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Pakistan’s deputy PM briefs Saudi FM on response to India’s actions after Kashmir attack

Pakistan’s deputy PM briefs Saudi FM on response to India’s actions after Kashmir attack
  • Ishaq Dar criticizes India’s ‘baseless’ accusations against Pakistan, cautions against escalatory moves
  • Pakistan denies involvement in a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in which 26 were killed

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who also serves as foreign minister, briefed his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, on Islamabad’s response to India’s retaliatory moves after a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, saying his country would respond firmly to any external aggression.
The two leaders spoke over the phone amid heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors after gunmen killed 26 civilians in the tourist town of Pahalgam earlier this week.
India accused Pakistan of involvement in the attack — a charge Islamabad denied — before announcing a series of retaliatory steps, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, expelling Pakistani diplomats and shutting down the Attari-Wagah border crossing.
Pakistan held a high-level national security meeting in response, criticizing Indian actions and promising a forceful response if New Delhi diverted river waters or resorted to any military action.
“DPM/FM [Dar] briefed Prince Faisal on decisions taken by Pakistan’s National Security Committee in the wake of unilateral measures announced by India,” the foreign office of Pakistan said in a statement after the phone call. “He rejected India’s baseless allegations and cautioned against further escalatory moves.”
“DPM/FM reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to respond firmly to any aggression,” the statement added.
Both ministers also expressed satisfaction with the state of bilateral relations and agreed to maintain consultations on evolving regional dynamics.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long-standing ties, particularly in defense and diplomacy, and often coordinate positions at multilateral forums.
As part of its wider diplomatic outreach, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch briefed ambassadors and senior diplomats in Islamabad earlier this week, highlighting the National Security Committee’s stance and reiterating Pakistan’s rejection of militancy in all its forms.
Pakistan also hosted the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, Yousef Al Dobeay, from April 19 to 22.
Officials briefed him on the situation in the disputed region of Kashmir while maintaining that the people of Kashmir looked to the Muslim world and the OIC for support in their struggle for self-determination.


Pakistan warns Indian suspension of Indus Waters Treaty could set precedent for China

Pakistan warns Indian suspension of Indus Waters Treaty could set precedent for China
Updated 25 April 2025
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Pakistan warns Indian suspension of Indus Waters Treaty could set precedent for China

Pakistan warns Indian suspension of Indus Waters Treaty could set precedent for China
  • New Delhi suspended the river-sharing agreement after a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
  • PM Sharif’s aide says Pakistan is discussing the situation with friendly countries and the United Nations

ISLAMABAD: India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) could set a precedent for China to block the Brahmaputra River, a senior aide to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned on Friday, potentially putting New Delhi in a difficult position.
India relies on rivers that originate in China, particularly from the Tibetan Plateau, where major waterways like the Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers begin.
China’s dam-building activities and lack of a formal water-sharing agreement have raised concerns in India about future water security during floods or droughts. The absence of binding treaties leaves India vulnerable to upstream decisions made by Beijing.
In 2016, China blocked the flow of the Xiabuqu River, which feeds the Brahmaputra, as part of a hydropower project in Tibet after a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.
“If India does something like this that they stop the flow [of rivers] to Pakistan, then China can also do the same thing,” Rana Ihsaan Afzal said while speaking to Geo News. “But if things like this happen then the entire world will be in a war.”
The IWT is a landmark water-sharing agreement signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank, to manage the use of rivers flowing through both countries from the Himalayas. Under the treaty, India was granted control over the three eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — while Pakistan received rights over the three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.
Despite multiple wars and ongoing tensions, the treaty has largely held as a rare example of sustained cooperation.
However, India on Wednesday suspended the six-decade-old river-sharing treaty with Pakistan as part of a series of measures following a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, for which it holds Islamabad responsible.
Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attack, in which gunmen killed 26 people at a tourist site in Pahalgam, a scenic town in Anantnag district, marking the deadliest assault on civilians in the country in nearly two decades.
Highlighting that India’s actions threatened the food security of 250 million people, Afzal said under international water laws, upper riparian countries cannot “stop” water but may only “regulate” it.
He added that upper and lower riparian countries coexist peacefully across the world and warned that India’s threat could undermine the entire system of peaceful water-sharing mechanisms, potentially escalating tensions toward conflict.
“This will not be easy at all,” he said. “The United Nations and lower riparian countries throughout the world will raise their voice against it.”
Afzal confirmed that Pakistan was engaging friendly countries through diplomatic channels and was also in contact with the UN.