ISLAMABAD: Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of a prominent Pakistani religious party, has met Afghanistan’s interim interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and discussed with him internal and external stability of both countries, Rehman’s party said on Friday.
Rehman, who heads the Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI) party, has been on a visit to Afghanistan since Jan. 7 to hold talks with Taliban officials at a time when ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan are at their lowest ebb due to the rising number of militant attacks in Pakistan.
The Pakistani cleric advocated for strong bilateral relations between both countries against the backdrop of his country’s decision to deport large numbers of “illegal immigrants,” mostly Afghans, in the wake of a surge in deadly attacks, including suicide bombings.
In his meeting with Haqqani, the JUI leader was apprised of the internal security situation of Afghanistan, his party said in a statement.
“The purpose of our visit is to bring internal and external stability in the two countries,” Rehman was quoted as telling the Afghan interior minister. “An increase in trade between the two countries will lead to peace and prosperity.”
The Afghan interior minister expressed his country’s desire to have cordial ties with Pakistan.
“[We] want to move forward through cooperation and talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan on border issues,” Haqqani was quoted as saying.
While the JUI leader, along with a delegation, held talks in Kabul, the Pakistani government distanced itself from the visit.
“Maulana Fazlur Rehman has gone to Afghanistan in a private capacity,” Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a spokesperson of the Pakistan foreign office, said at a weekly press briefing on Thursday. “The government is not supporting his visit in any way.”
Asked if Islamabad intended to hold talks with the Pakistani Taliban, she said Pakistan was not “interested in dialogue with the TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) which has carried out several attacks in the country.”
The militant group, which is said to have sanctuaries in Afghanistan, is separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.
Over the last one year, Pakistan has repeatedly asked the Afghan Taliban to prevent the TTP from using their soil to carry out attacks against Pakistan. Kabul denies the use of its territory by any militant group.
Pakistani religious party leader discusses internal, external stability with Afghan interior minister
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Pakistani religious party leader discusses internal, external stability with Afghan interior minister
- Maulana Fazlur Rehman is on a visit to Afghanistan since Sunday where he has met top Taliban leaders
- Pakistan has chosen to distance itself from the visit, says Rehman undertook it in a ‘personal capacity’
At UNSC, Pakistan warns competition for critical minerals could fuel global conflict
- The demand for critical minerals has surged worldwide due to rapid expansion of electric vehicles, advanced electronics and clean energy technologies
- Pakistan’s representative says all partnerships in critical minerals sector must be ‘cooperative and not exploitative’ and respect national ownership
ISLAMABAD: Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), has warned that intensifying global competition over critical minerals could become a new driver of global conflict, urging stronger international cooperation and equitable access to resources vital for the world’s energy transition.
The warning comes as demand for critical minerals and rare earth elements surges worldwide due to the rapid expansion of electric vehicles, advanced electronics and clean energy technologies, with governments and companies increasingly competing to secure supply chains while raising concerns that this may lead to geopolitical rivalries in the coming years.
Speaking at a Security Council briefing on ‘Energy, Critical Minerals, and Security,’ Ahmad said experience showed that the risks of instability increased where mineral wealth intersected with weak governance, entrenched poverty and external interference.
“Access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy is essential for development, stability and prosperity. The global transition toward renewable energy, electric mobility, battery storage and digital infrastructure has sharply increased the demand for critical minerals,” he said.
“This upsurge has generated new geopolitical and geo-economic pressures. If not managed responsibly, competition over natural resources can affect supply chains, aggravate tensions, undermine sovereignty and contribute to instability.”
In several conflict-affected settings, he noted, illicit extraction, trafficking networks and opaque financial flows have fueled armed conflict and violence, weakened state institutions and deprived populations of legitimate revenues.
“The scramble for natural resources and its linkage to conflict and instability is therefore not new,” Ahmad told UNSC members at the briefing. “Pakistan believes that natural resources must serve as instruments of economic development and shared prosperity, and not coercion or conflict.”
He urged the world to reaffirm the right of peoples to permanent sovereignty over their natural resources, saying all partnerships in the critical minerals sector must be cooperative and not exploitative, respect national ownership, ensure transparent contractual arrangements and align with host countries’ development strategies.
“In order to prevent the exploitation of mineral-producing countries and regions, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings, support their capacity-building for strengthening domestic regulatory institutions, combating illicit financial flows, ensuring environmental safeguards, and promoting equitable benefit-sharing with local communities,” he asked member states.
“Promote equitable participation in global value chains. Developing countries must be enabled to move beyond extraction toward processing, refining and downstream manufacturing. Technology transfer, skills development and responsible investment are essential to avoid perpetuating structural imbalances.”
