ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday welcomed the reopening of Saudi Arabia’s airspace and land and sea borders with Qatar in a breakthrough agreement aimed at resolving a political dispute that led Riyadh and its allies to impose a boycott on Qatar.
Kuwait and the United States have been trying to end the row in which Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-Gulf Egypt severed diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar in mid-2017.
“Pakistan welcomes the decision by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar to reopen the land, air and sea borders between the two countries,” Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement. “We also appreciate other steps being taken by the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which will contribute to resolution of outstanding issues between the countries of the organization persisting for almost four years.”
Pakistan thanked the Emir of Kuwait for his “persistent and sincere efforts” and cooperation of GCC countries that had led to the breakthrough deal.
“Pakistan continues to accord high importance to its relationship with the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as its bilateral relations with all GCC countries,” the foreign office said. “We hope that the GCC Summit, being held today will further build on these encouraging developments and lead to enhanced confidence and cooperation among the countries of the organization.”
Saudi state agency SPA quoted Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as saying the annual gathering of Gulf leaders would unite Gulf ranks “in the face of challenges facing the region.” Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani is on his way to Al-Ula, where the summit is being held, state media reported.
Kuwait’s foreign minister said a declaration would be signed at the summit, which was postponed from its usual December date as Riyadh pushed for an agreement toward ending the rift.
The four boycotting countries had accused Qatar of supporting terrorism. Doha denies the charges and says the embargo aimed to curtail its sovereignty.
“We welcome opening of borders between Saudi Arabia and Qatar,” the Pakistani Prime Minister’s special representative for the Middle East, Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, told Arab News. “This is a vital step for the unity of the Muslim world.”
He added: “The efforts of Emir of Kuwait, leadership role played by King Salman and crown prince Muhammad bin Salman brought a new hope for the Muslim world. We hope that Saudi Arabia will keep on playing its leadership role in solving other internal issues of the Muslim world.”
The prime minister’s special assistant on overseas Pakistanis, Sayed Zulifqar Bukhari, said:
“Pakistan is naturally very happy when two great countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar take steps toward reconciliation. It is welcomed by Pakistan and the entire region. It eases travel restrictions on the people of both the countries and the people of the GCC region. We pray that it’s the beginning of many other moves to bring them closer.”
Pakistan welcomes Saudi reconciliation with Qatar as Gulf leaders head to GCC summit
https://arab.news/m9wj2
Pakistan welcomes Saudi reconciliation with Qatar as Gulf leaders head to GCC summit
- Pakistani foreign office lauds positive role of Emir of Kuwait, GCC countries toward resolution of differences
- Kuwait’s foreign minister says a declaration would be signed at today’s GCC summit to end Doha rift
Tens of thousands flee northwest Pakistan over fears of military operation
- More than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled remote Tirah region bordering Afghanistan
- Government says no military operation underway or planned in Tirah, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
BARA, Pakistan: More than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled a remote region in northwestern Pakistan bordering Afghanistan over uncertainty of a military operation against the Pakistani Taliban, residents and officials said Tuesday.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif has denied the claim by residents and provincial authorities. He said no military operation was underway or planned in Tirah, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad, he said harsh weather, rather than military action, was driving the migration. His comments came weeks after residents started fleeing Tirah over fears of a possible army operation.
The exodus began a month after mosque loudspeakers urged residents to leave Tirah by Jan. 23 to avoid potential fighting. Last August, Pakistan launched a military operation against Pakistani Taliban in the Bajau r district in the northwest, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
Shafi Jan, a spokesman for the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, posted on X that he held the federal government responsible for the ordeal of the displaced people, saying authorities in Islamabad were retracting their earlier position about the military operation.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Suhail Afridi, whose party is led by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has criticized the military and said his government will not allow troops to launch a full-scale operation in Tirah.
The military says it will continue intelligence-based operations against Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. Though a separate group, it has been emboldened since the Afghan
Taliban returned to power in 2021. Authorities say many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan and that hundreds of them have crossed into Tirah, often using residents as human shields when militant hideouts are raided.
Caught in the middle are the residents of Tirah, who continued arriving in Bara.
So far, local authorities have registered roughly 10,000 families — about 70,000 people — from Tirah, which has a population of around 150,000, said Talha Rafiq Alam, a local government administrator overseeing the relief effort. He said the registration deadline, originally set for Jan. 23, has been extended to Feb. 5.
He said the displaced would be able to return once the law-and-order situation improves.
Among those arriving in Bara and nearby towns was 35-year-old Zar Badshah, who said he left with his wife and four children after the authorities ordered an evacuation. He said mortar shells had exploded in villages in recent weeks, killing a woman and wounding four children in his village. “Community elders told us to leave. They instructed us to evacuate to safer places,” he said.
At a government school in Bara, hundreds of displaced lined up outside registration centers, waiting to be enrolled to receive government assistance. Many complained the process was slow.
Narendra Singh, 27, said members of the minority Sikh community also fled Tirah after food shortages worsened, exacerbated by heavy snowfall and uncertain security.
“There was a severe shortage of food items in Tirah, and that forced us to leave,” he said.
Tirah gained national attention in September, after an explosion at a compound allegedly used to store bomb-making materials killed at least 24 people. Authorities said most of the dead were militants linked to the TTP, though local leaders disputed that account, saying civilians, including women and children, were among the dead.
