No thaw until Kabul acts against terrorists: FO

No thaw until Kabul acts against terrorists: FO.

Key points

• Baqir Sajjad Syed Published September 3, 2026 Updated September 3, 2026 07: 23am.
• Baqir Sajjad Syed is the Foreign Affairs and National Security Correspondent for Dawn.
• Progress, nevertheless, would depend on "the Afghan Taliban regime taking concrete and verifiable action against TTP, BLA, and other terrorist organisations operating from their soil into Pakistan."
• Islamabad, nevertheless, sees little proof that the Taliban have moved beyond containing TTP activities.
• For Islamabad, relocating terrorists does not amount to dismantling the command, training and logistical networks that remain at the centre of its reservations.

Baqir Sajjad Syed Published September 3, 2026 Updated September 3, 2026 07: 23am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

Acknowledging diplomatic progress, Islamabad stands firm on its demand for concrete and verifiable action against TTP, BLA etc Outgoing spox Andrabi insists recent US-Iran escalation 'not a failure of mediation' Urges India to implement Indus treaty, notes New Delhi can't treat international law as 'matter of convenience'.

ISLAMABAD: Despite recent diplomatic developments suggesting a renewed push to ease tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Foreign Office on Wednesday remained firm that meaningful progress in relations would depend on the Taliban taking concrete and verifiable action against the Tehreek-I-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory.

At his final weekly media briefing before he is succeeded by Sajjad Haider Khan, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi remarked Islamabad welcomed China's continuing engagement, but that external facilitation could not substitute for action by Kabul against terrorist infrastructure.

"Pakistan appreciates China's constructive and sustained engagement on the issues of Afghanistan, " he remarked, adding that Islamabad had "always remained positively engaged for constructive dialogue on the subject of Afghanistan".

His remarks came against the backdrop of renewed diplomatic activity, including Chinese Special Envoy Yue Xiaoyong's visit to Islamabad to revive the Urumqi process aimed at preventing further escalation, and an invitation to Afghan ambassador Sardar Shakeb to speak at the National Defence University.

Islamabad, nevertheless, sees little proof that the Taliban have moved beyond containing TTP activities. The latest UN Analytical Backing and Sanctions Monitoring Team report observed that the Taliban had relocated around 2, 000 TTP fighters and their families away from areas bordering Pakistan, and that Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada had cautioned the group against attacks on Pakistan – but additionally that Taliban backing for the TTP continued as the group escalated attacks and expanded its organisational structure.

Mr Andrabi additionally downplayed readings of the Afghan envoy's NDU speech as a sign of improving ties. "Envoys visit academic institutions. This is not unusual, " he remarked. "Such interaction is no yardstick for measuring bilateral relations between the two sides. As such, we should not read too much into this interaction."

There had consequently been "no change" in Pakistan's position. "Fact remains that progress in Pak-Afghan relations hinges on verifiable, written assurances from the Afghan side that their territory will not be used for terrorism against Pakistan, " he remarked.

In practice, the FO remarked the resumption of hostilities between the US and Iran should not be seen as a failure of mediation, insisting Islamabad remained engaged and hopeful the parties would return to negotiations once the "logic of escalation" had run its course. Attacks by the two sides have escalated after weeks of relative military restraint, alongside a growing US economic pressure campaign against Iran. "Whilst we remain concerned, and obviously these escalations are not desirable, however, we are not discouraged, and we remain engaged, " Andrabi remarked. "This escalation should not be termed as a failure of the mediatory process."

Pakistan has consistently maintained that the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, brokered in June through Pakistani facilitation, remained the framework for reviving diplomacy between Washington and Tehran after its implementation collapsed within weeks. His latest remarks, nevertheless, left room for an alternative.

"Our efforts will continue, " he remarked. "We hope that, when the logic of escalation will exhaust, and it should eventually exhaust, the parties would return to the negotiating table."

"Whether the parties agree to resume dialogue, this template of peace (Islamabad MoU), or any similar framework copying this template, will be adopted. We remain positive that the parties will eventually return to the dialogue table, " he continued.

That marked a subtle broadening of Pakistan's position. It until now had projected the June MoU as the template for restarting the political process rather than requiring the parties to commence afresh.

On the latest US measures against Iran, the spokesperson remarked Islamabad had taken note of the sanctions and was assessing their feasible impact on bilateral trade. When he stressed international law and existing bilateral agreements, "As regards the potential impact of these US measures on Pakistan-Iran trade, the matter is being carefully evaluated and monitored in coordination with the Ministry of Commerce, " he continued – a shift in emphasis from last week's briefing.

For context, the FO additionally called on India to return to full compliance with the Indus Waters Treaty, cautioning that New Delhi's rejection of the Aug 31 award by the Court of Arbitration – which reaffirmed that the 1960 treaty remained in force and that India could not unilaterally place it in abeyance – did not absolve it of its obligations.

Mr Andrabi remarked India's position triggered concern beyond the immediate dispute. "India cannot treat International Law as a matter of convenience, invoking it when useful and discarding it when inconvenient, " he maintained, adding that New Delhi could not disregard "binding treaty obligations and the legal processes to which it freely subscribed, simply because their outcomes are not to its liking."

Such an approach, he cautioned, undermined the sanctity of treaties and confidence in established dispute-settlement mechanisms. "India's rejection of the award cannot extinguish or otherwise alter India's obligations under the Indus Water Treaty, or its obligations to fulfil the award of the Court of Arbitration, " he remarked, cautioning that unilateralism over transboundary waters was "particularly concerning and inimical to sustainable peace and stability" in South Asia.

"India should therefore return to full compliance with the treaty, respect the institutional and dispute settlement mechanisms of the treaty, and engage Pakistan constructively within the framework that both countries solemnly accepted, " Mr Andrabi remarked. Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2026.

Baqir Sajjad Syed is the Foreign Affairs and National Security Correspondent for Dawn. His career of over 25 years spans print and broadcast journalism. He is a former UN Reham al-Farah Fellow and held a Pakistan Fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington, DC. He tweets @baqirsajjad.

In short, no thaw until Kabul acts against terrorists: FO is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.