'Cup of Tea' cost Pakistan dearly: Dar blames previous govt for border Opening

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said that a “cup of tea” cost Pakistan immensely when the then-government opened the border to Afghanistan, ARY News reported.

Addressing the Senate session, the DPM said that under the guise of that “cup of tea,” the previous government had opened Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.

Ishaq Dar continued to criticize the former PTI government without naming it, stating that as many as 100 hardened criminals were also released.

He informed the house that he had received six telephone calls from his Afghan counterpart, Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Dar registered Pakistan’s complaint, demanding one thing: “no terrorist activities be launched from their soil.”

He expressed that, as a person who supports the Islamic country, he has been disappointed by this act (terrorism) originating from Afghanistan.

On a positive note, he expressed optimism that the process will move forward when the two sides meet again in Istanbul on November 6.

He said recent dialogues with Afghanistan’s interim government, held in Türkiye and Qatar, focused on engaging Afghan authorities to curb cross-border militancy. He noted that militant groups such as Fitna al-Khawarij, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Fitna al-Hindustan BLA are operating from Afghan soil and conducting terrorist activities against Pakistan.

Ishaq Dar emphasized that Pakistan, during these talks facilitated by the brotherly nations of Türkiye and Qatar, presented concrete evidence of these groups’ involvement in attacks on Pakistani soil.