ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday called for continued regional and multilateral engagement with the Taliban, urging the international community to pursue dialogue to encourage them to comply with their international obligations.
Simultaneously, Islamabad also voiced grave concern over terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil, warning that they threaten regional peace and security, urging the Afghan authorities to take concrete and verifiable action against cross-border terrorism, a Foreign Office statement quoted Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar as telling the first meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Afghanistan held in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.
Dar also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to peace, stability, and prosperity in the brotherly country.
Pakistan is seriously concerned over the presence of more than two dozen terrorist groups inside Afghanistan, particularly the TTP, BLA, Majeed Brigade, and ETIM; actively collaborating with Al-Qaeda and posing a grave threat to regional and international peace and security, he said. “Our law enforcement officials and civilians continue to make enormous sacrifices to terrorism emanating from Afghanistan.
Earlier this month, 12 Pakistani soldiers were martyred in our bordering regions while combating TTP terrorist infiltrators from Afghanistan. Digital platforms and social media are also being used by these terrorist groups for propaganda and incitement to violence. This cannot be tolerated under any circumstances,” the statement pointed out.
For meaningful progress across all priority pillars, the Afghan interim authorities must take concrete and verifiable action to prevent their soil from being used for terrorism against neighboring countries, particularly Pakistan.
Dar stressed that Afghanistan cannot remain isolated, emphasizing that OIC Members should secure unconditional humanitarian funding, revive trade & banking systems, enhance regional connectivity, and promote dialogue for compliance with international obligations.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s resolve, he proposed a working group of OIC experts to chart a roadmap for Afghanistan’s stability, underlining that lasting peace requires sincerity, mutual respect & political will. Pakistan has demanded that the OIC Group should advocate for adequate funding by the international donors to meet Afghanistan’s humanitarian aid requirements without any political considerations.
Furthermore, the OIC group must help stabilize the Afghan economy and revive its banking systems to create conditions necessary for trade and commercial activity and for the implementation of regional connectivity projects. “This will help reduce unemployment and lift ordinary Afghans out of poverty,” Dar said.
“We commend UN-led efforts to help ex-poppy farmers secure alternate livelihoods and must support these endeavors to create further opportunities for a sustainable future for Afghan cultivators.
The OIC group must urge the Taliban to lift restrictions on women and girls that are unjustified and contrary to Islamic principles and norms of Muslim society. Our outreach efforts must be directed to influence the Taliban to rethink their policies towards this end,” he pointed out. With peace returning to Afghanistan, it is now time for Afghan refugees to return to their homeland.
The OIC Group must urge the Afghan interim authorities to create conditions necessary for facilitating the resettlement of Afghan returnees from neighboring countries and to ensure their integration into the political and social fabric of Afghanistan for lasting peace and stability, Dar said.
According to the Foreign Office’s statement, Pakistan also proposed the establishment of a working group of experts from members of the OIC contact group to jointly put forward a practical roadmap with a series of reciprocal steps to make progress across the entire spectrum of issues faced by Afghanistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025