China, Afghanistan reaffirm stand against TTP, BLA, says Ishaq Dar

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister (DPM/FM) Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Thursday calling his recent three-day China visit “highly successful,” said that Pakistan had achieved significant progress on diplomatic, strategic and economic fronts during the engagements held in Beijing.

The deputy prime minister, addressing a news conference, said that it was not a routine diplomatic engagement but with clear and urgent objectives, also featuring bilateral meetings with Chinese leadership and trilateral dialogues involving Afghanistan.

Dar told the media that a clear agreement was reached with both China and Afghanistan that no terrorist organization — whether TTP, BLA or others — would be allowed to use any country’s soil against another.

Dar announced that discussions on CPEC 2.0 were detailed and promising. “We have successfully laid the groundwork for expanded cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

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He confirmed that China had expressed its intent to finance the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Uzbekistan railway project, calling it a transformative step for regional connectivity.

“We have already sent a draft framework to Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. While the meeting is proposed for May 29–30, I am committed to finalizing this by early June,” Dar added.

He said that the visit also marked substantive decisions with China and Afghanistan, especially on refugee matters and counterterrorism.

He said that all of the decisions taken on April 17 meeting in Kabul were implemented within 72 hours – in letter and spirit.

Reflecting on security cooperation, Dar stated, “China has deep concerns over attacks on its personnel in Pakistan. I assured them that we are addressing these threats seriously. We discussed a permanent mechanism to prevent cross-border terrorism, and I commend both China and Afghanistan for aligning with our zero-tolerance stance.”

He reiterated that during Pakistan’s previous government from 2013 to 2017, over $4 billion was spent on Operation Zarb-e-Azb, effectively crushing terrorism. “Unfortunately, the situation deteriorated due to the previous regime’s lax border policies and the release of hardcore terrorists,” he said. “Now, our resolve is clear: we will crush terrorism with an iron hand, as we did before.”

He confirmed that the ceasefire agreement, brokered after U.S. Secretary Rubio’s call, was holding and said that military-to-military engagements via DGMOs were progressing smoothly. “Our deterrence is defensive, not aggressive. We have never built our nukes and missiles to attack others, but to safeguard peace.”

Dar called recent remarks by the Indian Defence Minister “regrettable” and said, “Pakistan desires peace. However, we will always defend our sovereignty with full force when challenged.”

Dar highlighted his government’s commitment to improving ties with Afghanistan. He announced an extension of the transit document regime for Afghan drivers and vehicles until June 30 and introduced a single document regime of $100 multiple-entry visa for Afghan citizens. “These initiatives were deeply appreciated by Afghan officials,” he noted.