Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has admitted that the 2021 visit of the then Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief to Kabul, famously captured in a photograph of him sipping tea was a strategic error that proved costly for Pakistan’s internal security. Speaking at a recent interaction, Dar described the visit as a “mistake” that “opened borders and allowed the return of militants,” pledging that such actions “will not be repeated.”
Dar’s remarks referred to the period following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, when Pakistan’s ISI chief Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed made a high-profile trip to Kabul. The image of him having tea at a hotel symbolised Islamabad’s early engagement with the new Afghan rulers. However, Dar said the episode indirectly contributed to a resurgence of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), as militants were released and reorganised across the border, leading to an escalation of violence within Pakistan.
The statement marks a rare instance of a senior civilian leader publicly criticising decisions linked to Pakistan’s military establishment. It also signals a possible re-evaluation of Pakistan’s Afghan policy, long rooted in the idea of “strategic depth.” Dar’s admission comes at a time when Pakistan faces renewed threats from cross-border militancy and seeks to redefine its security and diplomatic priorities in the region.
