A background briefing given by the security sources to journalists on Tuesday confirmed, once again that Pakistan will continue to uphold principles and national interests in the realm of diplomacy, Kashmir issue, ongoing unrest in Azad Kashmir, relations with Afghanistan and in tackling the menace of terrorism. For understandable reasons, they maintained the highest level of secrecy vis-à-vis contents of the agreement digitally signed by the United States and Iran to end the conflict in the Gulf as well as future negotiations but highlighted that Pakistan’s consistent and sincere efforts not only brought the military hostilities to a halt but also prevented a potentially devastating regional conflict among Muslim countries, which could have presented serious challenges to the unity of the Ummah.
The remarks of the sources carry weight as instead of a bleak scenario of Muslim States fighting among themselves, the outcome of the diplomatic process, mediated by Pakistan, will most likely change security perceptions transforming the traditional adversarial relationship between Iran and the Gulf States into a cooperative mode. Reassessment of their security strategies and postures can change the fate of the entire region and usher in an era of progress and prosperity in a peaceful and stable environment. That is why the security sources said that Pakistan’s involvement was driven not by narrow geopolitical interests but by a broader objective of ensuring regional stability and preserving unity within the Muslim world. They underlined that through consultation and cooperation with all key stakeholders, Pakistan helped save the region from a major war that was planned to be imposed and would have carried grave consequences. Apart from Pakistani leadership that has consistently been urging Iran and Gulf countries to exercise restraint, the credit surely goes to Saudi Arabia, which maintained calm and demonstrated strategic patience in the face of provocative drone and missile strikes by Iran and false operations carried out by Israel in a bid to entangle all Gulf countries in the war.
The acknowledgement that attempts to derail the peace process could continue even after the agreement is signed show that the mediators are fully alive to the dangers ahead and are determined to continue working closely with the United States and Iran to take the diplomatic process to a comprehensive accord. During the briefing, security sources said that terrorism and Afghanistan had become “inseparable realities” in the current regional environment. They indicated that the current policy towards Afghanistan is likely to continue until and unless the Taliban regime showed seriousness in preventing the use of Afghan territory for terrorism and in ending support for militant groups. Pakistan’s sole demand remained the dismantling of terrorist infrastructure and the end to all forms of support, sanctuary and facilitation for militants operating against Pakistan. About military action across the Durand Line, they underscored that all cross-border military and air operations were conducted with “extreme precision” and based on credible intelligence. The officials described Kashmir as the “unfinished agenda of the partition” and stressed that the dispute remained central to regional peace and stability. They argued that demographic changes and legal measures introduced by India could not extinguish the right to self-determination of Kashmiris. As for unrest in Azad Kashmir, the sources accused India of attempting to create instability in the region to divert attention from challenges in the occupied territory. The officials stressed that no group would be allowed to challenge the state’s writ through force and warned that any attempts to exploit public issues for external agendas would be dealt with under the law. The message is clear: No one will be allowed to advance foreign agenda of destabilising the AJK.
