ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has said a much-talked about meeting of the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on the sidelines of a regional conference on Afghanistan, had not been scheduled so far.
The Heart of Asia conference, also called the Istanbul Process, is an initiative of the Republic of Afghanistan and the Republic of Turkey, officially launched at a conference hosted in Istanbul on November 2, 2011.
The presence of Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar at the multilateral event have led to speculation in recent days that they might meet on the sidelines, especially in the backdrop of a recent thaw is relations between the two nuclear-armed arch-rivals.
The last meeting between Qureshi and an Indian external affairs minister took place in May 2019 in Bishkek on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting.
Qureshi, who left for Dushanbe today, Monday, told Pakistan's Dawn newspaper on Sunday that “no meeting [with the Indian foreign minister] has been finalised or requested.”
On Monday the FM said he would be meeting the foreign ministers of several countries at the Heart of Asia conference, including Iran, Turkey and Tajikistan, but did not specify if he would meet the Indian FM.
“Here [at the conference] Afghanistan, peace and stability in Afghanistan and its future will be discussed,” the foreign minister said in a video message before departing for Dushanbe. “The role that Pakistan has played for the peace and stability of Afghanistan; I will bring the attention of the foreign ministers of participating countries to that.”
On Sunday, the foreign office said during this year’s Heart of Asia conference Qureshi “would deliver a statement highlighting Pakistan’s positive contributions to the Afghan peace process and its support for Afghanistan’s development and connectivity within the regional framework. On the sidelines of the Conference, the Foreign Minister will hold consultations with key regional and international partners.”
In 2015, Pakistan co-chaired the Heart of Asia conference, along with Afghanistan, and hosted its fifth Ministerial Conference in Islamabad.
No meeting planned with Indian counterpart in Dushanbe, Pakistani foreign minister says
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No meeting planned with Indian counterpart in Dushanbe, Pakistani foreign minister says
- Presence of Pakistani and Indian foreign ministers at Heart of Asia conference led to speculations they might meet on sidelines
- FM Qureshi to meet foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey, Tajikistan and other countries for bilateral meetings on the sidelines
Prominent lawyers arrested in Islamabad amid controversial social media case
- Police detain lawyer couple en route to court, family says no warrants were shown
- Mazari-Hazir, husband face charges under cyber law that carry up to 14 years in prison
ISLAMABAD: Prominent human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari-Hazir and her husband, advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, were arrested by police in Pakistan’s capital on Friday while on their way to a court appearance, a family member said, in a case that has drawn attention to tensions over freedom of expression and prosecution of critics.
Mazari-Hazir, one of Pakistan’s most outspoken civil liberties lawyers, and Chattha are being prosecuted, among other cases, under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) over posts on X that authorities say incited ethnic divisions and portrayed the military as involved in “terrorism.” Both reject the allegations. If convicted under the relevant PECA provision, they face a prison term of up to 14 years.
A district and sessions court had directed law enforcement to arrest the pair in mid-January saying they had repeatedly failed to appear in hearings, and non-bailable arrest warrants were reissued.
“Imaan and Hadi were on their way to court when police arrested them without showing warrants or a copy of the FIR,” Shireen Mazari, Imaan’s mother and a former federal minister, told Arab News.
Police could not be reached for comment.
Earlier this week, an anti-terrorism court rejected the couple’s pre-arrest bail applications in a related case tied to a scuffle outside the Islamabad High Court, resulting in the couple spending the night at the Islamabad High Court Bar Association office to avoid arrest.
The couple’s legal troubles have drawn criticism from lawyers’ associations and rights groups, who argue that the proceedings reflect broader concerns about freedom of expression and the prosecution of activists in Pakistan. The Islamabad High Court Bar Association and the Islamabad Bar Association both condemned what they described as an “illegal and unconstitutional move” by police, calling for lawyers to gather at the police station where the couple were being held.
Mazari-Hazir has a history of representing clients in cases involving alleged abuses, including enforced disappearances. Her work on sensitive human rights issues, including missing persons and other civil liberties cases, has drawn public attention over several years, and she has been involved in legal battles that critics say are connected to her activism and criticism of state policies.
Enforced disappearances have been a longstanding concern in Pakistan, with activist groups estimating thousands of cases over the past decade and calling for greater transparency and accountability. The government and military deny involvement.
