PESHAWAR:
Former Jamaat-e-Islami leader Sirajul Haq has called on Muslim countries to put lasting peace ahead of conflict, warning that even the apparent winner of any war between two Islamic nations ends up defeated.
Speaking at a policy dialogue titled ‘The Pakistan-Afghanistan Conflict and its Regional Impacts’, organized by the Institute of Islamic Studies (IRS) on Friday, Sirajul Haq warned that growing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan would hit the Pashtun population on both sides of the border harder while further damaging their already fragile economies.
He hinted at outside interference, saying some world powers do not want to see stability between the two neighboring Muslim states.
“Dialogue is the only way forward,” he stressed. “All disputes must be resolved through negotiation. Lasting peace in the region can only be achieved through diplomatic engagement and not through confrontation.”
Lawyer Mohammad Ali Saif, a senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former information adviser, has criticized the management of relations between Islamabad and Kabul. He said Pakistan should have established speedy and effective diplomatic channels with Afghanistan, but political point-scoring by both sides derailed meaningful negotiations and increased distrust.
“The people of the two countries have no desire for war,” Saif said, urging leaders on both sides to immediately ease tensions. He warned that excluding Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa from the negotiation process would make lasting peace almost impossible, given the province’s direct stake in cross-border issues.
Saif also criticized the federal government’s diplomatic approach, saying issues with Afghanistan had never been addressed seriously or through sustained high-level engagement. The lack of direct high-level exchanges, he added, has only widened the gap between the two nations.
Criticizing the Afghan Taliban, Saif said the group had failed to live up to its commitments and appeared to be acting under external pressure, which had contributed to rising tensions. He, however, expressed cautious optimism that sincere dialogue could still resolve differences if both sides showed real commitment.
Earlier, Dr Mohammad Iqbal Khalil, Chairman, IRS, and Senior Journalist Tahir Khan also addressed the meeting. All speakers unanimously called for immediate negotiations, emphasizing that regional peace is inseparable from mutual stability and cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Speakers highlighted Pakistan’s decades-long hosting of millions of Afghan refugees as a remarkable example of generosity rarely seen in the world. They concluded that the time had come for both nations to move beyond conflict and embrace dialogue, cooperation and peace as the only path to long-term prosperity.
