- Pakistan's Defence Minister called the 2021 Kabul "tea meeting" a costly mistake for Pakistan
- The visit led to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan members entering Afghanistan, fueling terror attacks, he said
- Dar blamed the previous government for reopening the border and releasing hardened criminals
Pakistan's Defence Minister Ishaq Dar has accepted that a symbolic "cup of tea" in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, in 2021, turned into a costly mistake for Pakistan. Dar, who is also Pakistan's Foreign Minister, cautioned that such mistakes should not be repeated.
Dar was referring to the 2021 Kabul visit of General Faiz Hameed, the former head of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)-- Pakistan's intelligence agency - weeks after the Taliban took over control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US and allied forces. The Minister blamed the visit for the entry of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) members into the country, who have been behind several recent terror attacks in Pakistan.
"Pakistan has done so much outreach that when we go there, we say that we are here for a cup of tea... May Allah ease everyone's difficulties, but that cup of tea cost us the most... It was a big mistake and should not be repeated," Dar said, speaking during a Senate session on Wednesday.
Without taking Hameed's name, the Pakistani Minister took a shot at the previous Imran Khan government and said, "That cup of tea reopened the entire border... The 35,000-40,000 Taliban who had fled from here came back... And the government of that time released the most hardened criminals who had burnt the flags of Pakistan in Swat, ans who had martyred many people."
Dar also claimed that security incidents in Pakistan had increased after the Taliban came to power, alleging that terrorist groups such as TTP, Fitna al-Khawarij, and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were operating from Afghan soil.
The Pakistani leader had also claimed that he held six phone conversations with his Afghan counterpart, Amir Khan Muttaqi, during which Pakistan lodged its concerns and demanded that no terrorist activities be launched from Afghan territory.
However, Muttaqi rejected the claims made by Pakistan's Foreign Minister, stating that the claims "lack accuracy".
In a post on X, Hafiz Zia Ahmad, spokesperson for Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the phone discussion between the two sides took place in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and coordination. He added that Ishaq Dar initially indicated he was not fully briefed on the matter and would reach out again after obtaining complete information.
"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," Ahmad stated in his post.
Dar further expressed disappointment over the ongoing cross-border attacks but remained hopeful that upcoming talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan -- scheduled to take place in Istanbul on November 6 -- would help advance cooperation on security issues.
This is not the first time Dar expressed regret over Hameed's Kabul visit. Last year, speaking at a press conference at the Pakistan High Commission in London, he criticised the same "three-star general who went to Kabul to have a cup of tea."
"The country is paying a price for that cup of tea in Afghanistan," he had said.
Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan escalated sharply last month after Islamabad carried out airstrikes in Kabul, which were followed by retaliatory attacks from the Afghan side, leading to intense border clashes.
Both neighbours later agreed to a ceasefire during talks mediated by Qatar and Turkiye, which was extended. The second round of talks is set to be held in Istanbul today, where "further modalities of the implementation will be discussed and decided," as per a statement issued by the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs.
