Pak cancelled military action against Afghanistan at Qatar's request: Ishaq Dar

Islamabad: Pakistan cancelled a potential military action against Afghanistan at Qatar's request last month, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Saturday.

Dar was addressing a press conference where he talked at length about Pakistan’s concerns and expectations from Kabul.

“The Qatari Foreign Ministry came to know that we were moving towards taking action (against Afghanistan). Then Qatar requested for a solution to the problem and mediation, after which the operation that was going to be carried out that night was stopped,” Dar said, referring to tensions with Kabul last month.

He said that nothing could come out of a mediation, and Qatar was not happy that its mediation effort remained fruitless.  "It is not appropriate to talk about a friendly country, but they (Qatar) are now upset that they got mediation done and no result could be achieved,” Dar said.

He also urged the Afghan Taliban to reconsider their policy as they were now running the country.

“The Afghan Taliban will have to reconsider their policy since they are in power. We don’t want anything from them; we are ready to do anything, but since their government came to power, our 4,000 officers and soldiers have been killed, and over 20,000 injured. So how can I say that 'let us close our eyes (towards Afghanistan)'?” He also warned that Pakistan has the power and capability to fix the issues of militancy emanating from Afghanistan.

“Because these (violent incidents) are not decreasing, but are increasing. It is their delusion that we cannot solve it. Allah has given Pakistan the strength to act on it and make things right, but it is also not right that we go to our brother's house and enter and kill him,” he said.

Dar also shared details of his visits to Russia, Bahrain and other countries and stressed that peace in Afghanistan is necessary for peace in the region. “We told Afghanistan not to allow terrorism from its soil, the European Union supported Pakistan’s position on Afghanistan,” he said.

He claimed that Pakistan was sending back Afghan refugees with dignity and wished for development for the people of Afghanistan.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated amidst regular allegations by Pakistan regarding the failure of the Afghan regime to deny safe havens to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorists.

The two countries had agreed on a ceasefire following tensions last month, but the Foreign Office said on Friday that technically there was no truce as it was contingent on the Afghan Taliban stopping terrorist attacks in Pakistan, which they had failed to do.

Speaking about the conflict in Gaza, Dar said that Pakistan was ready to provide troops for Gaza, but it would not be part of efforts to disarm Hamas.

“We are not ready for that. This is not our job, but of the Palestinian law enforcement agencies. Our job is peacekeeping, not peace enforcement,” he said.

“We are definitely ready to contribute to the force — the prime minister has in principle already announced after consultation with the field marshal that we will contribute — but this decision cannot be taken until it is decided what its [International Stabilisation Force] mandate and TOR (terms of reference) will be.” The establishment of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) was part of the US-brokered Gaza peace plan, and the UN Security Council (UNSC) last week adopted a US-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump’s plan to end the conflict in Gaza, which also authorises the ISF for the Palestinian enclave.

Pakistan has indicated plans to become part of the ISF and a decision is likely in the coming weeks, but it has now clarified that being part of ISF does not mean becoming part of efforts to disarm Hamas.