Islamabad: Former President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan has said that Pakistan initially pursued diplomacy and engagement with the Afghan Taliban but was compelled to undertake targeted counter-terrorism operations after repeated terrorist attacks originating from Afghan territory.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, Sardar Masood Khan speaking during a television interview on the evolving security situation in the region, said that since 2021 Pakistan had consistently tried to resolve the issue through diplomatic channels after the revival of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which began using Afghan soil to carry out attacks against Pakistan.<\/p>\n
He said Pakistan first opted for bilateral diplomacy, negotiations and engagemenfft with the Afghan Taliban, while also advocating internationally for their recognition and legitimacy. \u201cPakistan extended support to stabilize Afghanistan and hoped that cooperation would lead to regional peace and security,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Masood Khan noted that when bilateral negotiations failed to produce results, Pakistan sought mediation through friendly countries. He referred to China\u2019s role in facilitating dialogue between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan, hosted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, where a constructive agenda for regional connectivity and economic cooperation was proposed.<\/p>\n
The proposed framework included extending the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan and integrating the country into the Belt and Road Initiative to promote infrastructure development and regional prosperity. However, he observed that despite Pakistan\u2019s full support for the initiative, the Afghan side did not embrace the proposal.<\/p>\n
He further said that Pakistan also explored mediation through Qatar and Turkey during the past year, but these efforts failed to produce meaningful outcomes as commitments made by Afghan Taliban leaders were not implemented.<\/p>\n
Masood Khan said that despite repeated assurances and religious decrees issued by the Taliban leadership against attacks on Pakistan, terrorist groups including TTP, Daesh and remnants of Al-Qaeda continued to target Pakistan, resulting in the loss of thousands of civilian and security personnel lives.<\/p>\n
He concluded that Pakistan remains committed to diplomacy as the ultimate path to peace but will continue to exercise its right to self-defence while ensuring that all its responses remain proportionate and consistent with international humanitarian law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad: Former President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan has said that Pakistan initially pursued diplomacy and engagement with the Afghan Taliban but was compelled to undertake targeted counter-terrorism operations after repeated terrorist attacks originating from Afghan territory. According to Kashmir Media Service, Sardar Masood Khan speaking during a television interview on the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":195294,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-196715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-occupied-jammu-and-kashmir"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t