- Resolution does not qualify as written assurance: Andrabi
- Islamabad willing to offer humanitarian support to Kabul.
- No formal extradition treaty with UK, says FO spokesperson.
Pakistan on Thursday welcomed a resolution by Afghan scholars against the use of their soil for carrying out cross-border attacks against other countries.
The remarks follow reports from Afghan media that a meeting of the country’s scholars at Kabul University emphasised that the country’s soil must not be used to threaten or harm any other nation.
In his weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi called the resolution a “positive development”.
However, he regretted that such commitments had been made in the past but were not honoured by the Afghan Taliban regime.
Andrabi reiterated Islamabad’s demand for written assurances from Kabul that Afghan territory will not be allowed to be used by terrorist groups to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
“The resolution does not qualify to be a full written assurance,” the FO spokesperson said.
He affirmed that Islamabad valued the well-being of the Afghan people and was prepared to offer humanitarian support whenever needed.
Pakistan-Afghanistan tension
Relations between the two neighbouring nations have remained tense due to continued terror attacks in Pakistan, which Islamabad says are being carried out by Afghan nationals.
The tense relations took a major hit when the armed forces of the two countries engaged in week-long border clashes in October.
The clashes began after the Taliban forces, backed by their affiliated militants, launched an unprovoked attack on the border posts of the Pakistani forces on October 12.
Pakistan’s retaliatory strikes resulted in the killing of more than 200 Afghan Taliban and affiliated militants, while the Pakistan Armed Forces also conducted “precision strikes” deep inside Afghanistan, including Kabul and Kandahar province.
However, as many as 23 Pakistani soldiers also embraced martyrdom while defending the homeland.
A ceasefire has been in place since then; however, the two sides have so far failed to reach an agreement on preventing cross-border attacks inside Pakistan.
‘No formal extradition treaty between Pakistan, UK’
Meanwhile, the FO spokesperson said that there was no formal extradition treaty between Pakistan and the United Kingdom.
His remarks come against the backdrop of the government’s efforts to extradite former special assistant to the prime minister Mirza Shahzad Akbar and Major (retd) Adil Raja from the UK, both of whom are wanted in separate cases.
Islamabad initiated the process earlier this month when Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi took up the issue of the extradition of Pakistani nationals with UK High Commissioner Jane Marriott.
Handing over the extradition papers to the British envoy, Naqvi said that both the individuals were “wanted in Pakistan” and therefore “should be immediately handed over [to Pakistani authorities]”.
Without confirming how many cases were submitted to the UK diplomat, Andrabi said that extradition cases could be processed on a case-to-case basis.
It is worth noting here that Akbar has previously served as a close aide of former prime minister Imran Khan on interior and accountability, and has been living in exile in London since April 2022.
Major (retd) Adil Raja, a fugitive YouTuber accused of anti-Pakistan activities on social media, on the other hand, was sentenced under the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, in 2023.
The retired officer, residing in the UK, was convicted and sentenced through Field General Court Martial.
