ISLAMABAD ( The COW News Digital) Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI‑F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday offered to play a mediating role between Pakistan and Afghanistan, but stressed that any effort must first create the right conditions on the ground for meaningful dialogue.
Speaking to reporters at the Convention Centre in Islamabad, the veteran cleric urged both sides to exercise restraint and suggested that cooler heads are needed to turn down the temperature after a recent period of heightened rhetoric and cross‑border incidents. “I am prepared to act as a facilitator,” he said, “but the ground must be prepared for talks — heated exchanges and social‑media propaganda will only frustrate the process.”
Maulana Fazl called for a deliberate cessation of inflammatory statements and urged political and social leaders on both sides to refrain from propagandist language. He argued that mutual confidence-building measures and a reduction in hostile public messaging would create an environment more conducive to resolving grievances through diplomacy.
Addressing concerns about recent developments — including the Afghan foreign minister’s visit to India and intensifying border tensions with a third party — the JUI‑F leader cautioned against allowing regional geopolitics to push Pakistan and Afghanistan further apart. He said Pakistan must carefully safeguard its own security interests while also considering the broader imperative of regional stability. “We should ask ourselves how essential Afghanistan is to Pakistan’s security and prosperity,” he said, urging policymakers to avoid moves that could inadvertently drive Kabul closer to other regional rivals.
Maulana Fazl also tempered expectations about quick institutional transformation in Kabul, noting that Afghanistan’s new government remains in an early, formative stage. “It will take time for a new administration to mature and build professional institutions,” he observed, warning that Islamabad should calibrate its diplomatic expectations accordingly.
The JUI‑F head proposed a pragmatic approach: quiet, behind‑the‑scenes diplomacy aimed at reopening channels of communication, paired with public appeals for restraint. He said he would raise the matter with federal authorities and attempt to encourage contacts between Pakistani and Afghan interlocutors to resolve outstanding complaints through talks.
Political analysts said Fazl’s offer reflects both growing domestic concern over the security and humanitarian fallout of cross‑border tensions and a broader desire among influential Pakistani actors to prevent escalation. Observers noted that while non‑state mediation offers can help de‑escalate short‑term crises, lasting resolution will require sustained government‑to‑government engagement supported by concrete confidence‑building measures.
As Islamabad and Kabul navigate a complex mix of security, diplomatic and domestic pressures, Maulana Fazl’s initiative signals a willingness among senior political figures to seek non‑military paths to rapprochement — but it also underscores the difficult groundwork that must be laid before such efforts can bear fruit.
