ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office denied on Sunday that its country’s envoy to Washington had said India should engage with the Taliban, after Reuters quoted Ambassador Asad Khan in a news report.
On Saturday, a Reuters report headline stated: ‘India should talk to Taliban if Delhi feels it will bolster peace push,’ and attributed the statement to the Pakistani ambassador.
“The ambassador did not say what the news headline implies. Pakistan’s views on India’s role are well-known,” foreign office spokesperson, Aisha Farooqui, told Arab News.
Pakistan and India have been to war three times since they won independence from the British in 1947. Over the years, Pakistan has gained influence over the Taliban.
“Pakistani envoy has not said that they [India and Taliban] should engage. Rather, he was saying it is their [India’s] decision,” the spokesperson continued. “Even the Taliban have expressed their viewpoint on the subject.”
“This is the time to focus on earliest commencement of intra-Afghan negotiations rather than dwell on any extraneous issue,” she said.
Earlier, in an interview with Indian newspaper, The Hindu, US Special Representative for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, had said an India-Taliban engagement would be "appropriate.”
When asked to respond to the statement, Ambassador Khan told Reuters: “It is for India to respond to that suggestion.”
"If India feels that their engagement is going to help the peace process, then we would defer to their judgment. But it's not for us to sit in judgment on what they should do or they shouldn't do,” Reuters further quoted the ambassador.
Pakistan’s former ambassador to Washington, Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary, told Arab News that New Delhi had no constructive role to play in the Afghanistan peace process.
“India has no political role in Afghanistan. They have played negative role there to harm Pakistan,” he said.
“Americans want to give India some role but it is hard that Taliban will accept it in any capacity.”
Pakistan denies its envoy to US said India should engage with Taliban
https://arab.news/w2r8t
Pakistan denies its envoy to US said India should engage with Taliban
- A Reuters news report attributed the quote to Ambassador Asad Khan on Saturday
- ‘India has no constructive role in Afghanistan,’ says former Pak envoy to Washington
Pakistan, other Muslim states raise alarm over Gaza situation after heavy flooding
- Cold winter rains have repeatedly lashed the sprawling tent cities, turning Gaza’s dirt roads into mud and causing damaged buildings to collapse
- The situation has been compounded by lack of sufficient humanitarian access, acute shortages of essential life-saving supplies and materials
ISLAMABAD: Foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations on Friday voiced concern over the situation in Gaza, following severe flooding triggered by heavy rains in the territory.
As 2026 begins, the shaky 12-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has largely ended large-scale Israeli bombardment of Gaza. But Palestinians are still being killed almost daily by Israeli fire, and the humanitarian crisis shows no signs of abating.
Cold winter rains have repeatedly lashed the sprawling tent cities over past weeks, turning Gaza’s dirt roads into mud and causing buildings damaged in Israeli bombardment to collapse. UNICEF says at least six children have now died of weather-related causes.
In a joint message, foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, expressed their “deepest concern” over the situation, compounded by lack of sufficient humanitarian access, acute shortages of essential life-saving supplies, and the slow pace of the entry of essential materials required for the rehabilitation of basic services.
“The ministers highlighted that the severe weather has laid bare the fragility of existing humanitarian conditions, particularly for almost 1.9 million people and displaced families living in inadequate shelters,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a joint statement.
“Flooded camps, damaged tents, the collapse of damaged buildings, and exposure to cold temperatures coupled with malnutrition, have significantly heightened risks to civilian lives, including due to disease outbreaks, especially among children, women, the elderly, and individuals with medical vulnerabilities.”
The statement came a day after UNICEF said a 7-year-old, Ata Mai, had drowned Saturday in severe flooding that engulfed his tent camp in Gaza City. Mai had been living with his younger siblings and family in a camp of around 40 tents.
They lost their mother earlier in the war, according to the UN agency.
Video from Civil Defense teams, shown on Al Jazeera, showed rescue workers trying to get Mai’s body out of what appeared to be a pit filled with muddy water surrounded by wreckage of bombed buildings. The men waded into the water, pulling at the boy’s ankle, the only part of his body visible. Later, the body is shown wrapped in a muddy cloth being loaded into an ambulance.
Foreign minister of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other states appreciated the efforts of all United Nations (UN) organizations and agencies as well as non-government organizations (NGOs) in continuing to assist Palestinian civilians and deliver humanitarian assistance under extremely difficult and complex circumstances.
“They demanded that Israel ensure the UN and international NGOs are able to operate in Gaza and the West Bank in a sustained, predictable, and unrestricted manner, given their integral role in the humanitarian response in the Strip. Any attempt to impede their ability to operate is unacceptable,” the statement read.
The foreign ministers reaffirmed support to President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, with a view to ensuring the sustainability of the ceasefire, bringing an end to the war in Gaza, to secure a dignified life for the Palestinian people who have endured prolonged humanitarian suffering, and leading to a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.
“In this context, they stressed the urgent need to immediately initiate and scale up early recovery efforts, including the provision of durable and dignified shelter to protect the population from the severe winter conditions,” the statement read further.
“The ministers called on the international community to uphold its legal and moral responsibilities and to pressure Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift constraints on the entry and distribution of essential supplies including tents, shelter materials, medical assistance, clean water, fuel, and sanitation support.”
