Foreign Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar - AP File Photo

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is willing to do whatever the Afghans want to help facilitate an end to 10 years of war with the Taliban, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar told reporters on Thursday.

Speaking a day after talks with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul billed as a fence-mending visit designed to ease frosty ties, Pakistan's top diplomat sought to refute perceptions that Islamabad was an obstacle to peace.

Pakistan is widely accused of harbouring the Taliban and the Haqqani network, whose leaders are based in Pakistan.

“We're willing to do whatever the Afghans want or expect,” Khar told reporters when asked whether Pakistan was ready to push the Haqqani network towards peace negotiations, but stopped short of naming the group or commenting further.

She said an effective peace process was still “miles away” but that the process should be “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, Afghan-driven”.

“Once the Afghan people decide the way forward, whatever assistance Pakistan can give, it will give,” she said.

Opinion

Editorial

Sustainable path?
Updated 13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

The FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth.
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...
A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...