Foreign ministers of eight nations including Pakistan agreed to the urgent need to resolve regional crises through conversation, diplomacy and de-escalation.

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia (R4) and the FMs of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, met in Istanbul on 23 October 2026, the Foreign Office stated in a statement on Saturday.

Ministers discussed issues of regional and international importance, namely US/Israel-Iran conflict, Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the need for a negotiated two-state solution, appalling Houthi militia attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of Yemen, safety and freedom of navigation, escalated tension in Straits of Hormuz and Bab El Mandeb and the Black Sea.

They pledged their ongoing commitment to contribute to diplomatic efforts to promote peace and stability in the area and beyond and address the security, economic and trade ramifications of these concerns.

They stressed the importance of finding durable negotiated solutions to all ongoing issues in conformity with the applicable UN Resolutions. The Ministers resolved to continue the engagement in this format with a view to averting disputes and promoting peace and stability in the area.

Pakistan reiterated its worries about militant activity emanating from Afghan territory and called on the Afghan Taliban leadership to stop all kinds of support, facilitation and tolerance for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and their affiliated groups.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting claimed that the claims against Pakistan’s security institutions could not take away from Islamabad’s long-standing security worries. It underlined that Afghan authorities must ensure that their land is not utilised to plan, prepare or carry out terrorist operations against Pakistan.

The ministry, reacting to the latest statements by the Afghan Taliban regime, said Pakistan’s concerns were not conjectural but were based on international reporting and documented proof. It stated that Afghan authorities were responsible for preventing the use of Afghan land for terrorist actions against Pakistan and that the blame on Pakistani security agencies would not clear them of their obligation.

The ministry said it was referring to a report by the United Nations Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, investigating the presence and actions of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, known as document S/2025/796.

It also cited a report presented to the US Congress by the US Lead Inspector General covering Operation Enduring Sentinel from January to March 2026.

The Pakistani ministry’s version of the US report said the Afghan Taliban had continued to allow the TTP to operate from Afghan territory. The report attributed the spike in attacks against Pakistan to growing Taliban backing and greater operational independence for the group.

The statement cited numbers that approximated the size of the TTP at between 4,000 and 6,000 combatants.

The ministry said the foreign evaluations illustrate the seriousness of Pakistan’s worries about terrorist safe havens and support networks in Afghanistan. It said that dismissing the capacity or desire of extremist groups to destabilise Pakistan did not take care of the issues expressed via solid evidence.

The statement also mentioned continuous efforts by armed extremists to get into Pakistan from across the Afghan border. It alluded to the killings of Afghan nationals and members of terrorist groups in Pakistani counter-terrorism operations, and the capture of foreign-made weaponry from militant elements.

“Such issues need to be taken seriously. The concerns raised about Afghan Taliban officials, including in Kandahar, allegedly facilitating terrorist groups need credible explanations and verifiable action, not outright denials,” the ministry said.

Pakistan said its security measures were aimed at terrorist threats, not at the Afghan people. The ministry said peace and stability of the two nations were interlinked and a terrorism-free region would benefit the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

It encouraged the Afghan Taliban administration to take concrete measures to remove the support mechanisms accessible to the TTP, BLA and allied organisations. It added these steps must ensure that Afghan land is not utilised for planning, preparing or executing strikes against Pakistan.

The ministry stated that characterising Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns and steps for defence as enmity toward Afghanistan would neither address the root cause of the crisis, nor would it divert attention from it.

The statement stated that Pakistan would continue to take all necessary actions to preserve its citizens, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

At the same time, Islamabad was ready for a responsible engagement based on mutual respect, verifiable assurances and concrete action against terrorist safe havens, support networks and cross-border infiltration.

The ministry said that sustainable peace in the region would depend on the Afghan Taliban government taking real steps to address Pakistan’s core security concerns in a way that could be independently confirmed.

Search Topics

Digital media executive Hina Javed was found dead at her home in Rawalpindi, and her family has asked Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to appoint a judicial commission to probe the case, saying they’re unhappy with the findings of a police investigative team.

In a letter to the chief minister, the family has demanded an impartial and transparent probe and expressed worries about the management of forensic evidence and the alleged deletion of vital communications from Hina’s cell phone.

Maryam Nawaz added that the probe was still on and assured the family that all efforts would be made to ensure justice.

On August 21, Hina, 45, was found dead in the bathtub of her house in the Lal Kurti district of Rawalpindi. A murder case was registered at Civil Lines police station on a complaint from her brother who said that she was exposed to assault before her death.

The post-mortem report said Hina suffered a fracture in her neckbone, damage to her ribs and hip and bleeding surrounding her heart.

Later, police detained her husband Faisal Asghar and domestic worker Zeeshan Arshad in connection with the case. Hina’s father-in-law was also named during probe.

Later Zeeshan’s family accused police of trying to paint him as the major suspect.

Hina’s family claimed in a letter that they did not trust the findings of the police committee and had lost faith in its method of investigation. The family said they had tried repeatedly to contact the chief minister personally but had not been successful, so were airing their concerns through various venues and representatives of the government.

The family questioned mishandling of forensic evidence saying DNA of Faisal and his father was detected on Hina’s neck. It further noted that Hina’s father-in-law had initially registered a case of theft from the house.

The letter said they were still awaiting forensic reports on the mobile phones of Hina and the suspects. The family said important messages were erased from Hina’s phone and questioned why the domestic worker was suspected before the forensic reports and fingerprint findings were released.

The family said that evidence pointing to Faisal was being ignored, but they also acknowledged the alleged role of the domestic helper in the murder.

The committee should also not judge anyone guilty or innocent before the case is adjudicated by a court, it said. The family said the arrangement created a potential conflict of interest, with the same department both researching the matter and reaching conclusions about it.

The family has asked Maryam Nawaz to go over the case file and form a judicial committee for independent investigation. It also urged for all accused to be treated according to the law and for justice to be done.

Meanwhile, the chief minister again said the inquiry was not complete. She assured Hina’s family that every effort would be made to ensure justice and that she would meet them personally.