Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar has said that a symbolic “cup of tea” in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, turned out to be a costly mistake for Pakistan. He reiterated that such a mistake should never be repeated.Speaking in the Senate on Wednesday, Dar criticised the previous Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, saying that under the pretext of that “cup of tea,” Pakistan had opened its borders to Afghanistan. He described this move as a serious error in judgment.
“It was a big mistake and should not be repeated,” Dar said, news agency ANI reported, quoting Afghanistan’s Tolo News.Dar’s comments referred to the 2021 visit of the then-ISI chief, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, to Kabul shortly after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US and allied forces. Recalling his earlier remarks made in London last year, Dar said Pakistan was “still paying the price” for that decision. He linked the surge in terrorist attacks in Pakistan to militant groups allegedly operating from Afghan soil, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Fitna al-Khawarij, and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), according to ARY News.Dar added that he had held six phone conversations with Afghanistan’s foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, to raise Pakistan’s concerns and demand that Afghan territory not be used for terrorist activities.However, Afghanistan’s ministry of foreign affairs has rejected Dar’s claim.In a post on X, ministry spokesperson Hafiz Zia Ahmad said the Pakistani minister’s statements “lacked accuracy,” clarifying that the phone conversation took place in a spirit of “mutual understanding and coordination.”“The recent statements by the Pakistani Foreign Minister, in which he claimed that the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan, Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi, had contacted him six times in one day, lack accuracy and realism. In fact, the first phone contact between the two sides was aimed at mutual understanding and coordination,” the post read.
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Ahmad further said Dar had initially mentioned not being fully briefed on the issue and would follow up after reviewing the matter.Despite the tensions, Dar expressed hope that upcoming talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan scheduled for November 6 in Istanbul would help strengthen cooperation on security issues.Last month, relations between the two neighbours deteriorated after Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghan territory, prompting retaliatory fire from the Afghan side and intense border clashes. Following mediation by Qatar and Turkiye, both countries agreed to a ceasefire, which was later extended. The Istanbul meeting will focus on finalising steps for its continued implementation, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
