ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s United Nations ambassador on Tuesday raised concerns about the possibility of a “refugee exodus” from Iran into neighboring Pakistan and Afghanistan, as tensions in the Middle East remain high despite the US announcing a ceasefire between Tehran and Israel. 

Pakistan shares a porous 900-kilometer-long border with Iran in its southwestern region, which is prone to militant violence and illicit activities such as smuggling. Analysts have warned that a long-term war between Israel and Iran, which began on June 13 after Tel Aviv attacked Iranian nuclear facilities, can lead to a large number of refugees heading toward Pakistan and other neighboring countries. 

However, hopes of calm returning to the region were spurred on after US President Donald Trump announced early Tuesday that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire. 

“We are also concerned about the potential destabilizing impact of the situation in Iran following unprovoked Israeli attacks,” Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, said during a Security Council session.

“A refugee exodus into neighboring countries— including Afghanistan and Pakistan— could pose significant new challenges,” he said. “This might imperil the already fragile condition in Afghanistan.”

The Pakistani envoy was speaking on the prevalent situation in Afghanistan, including the lack of opportunities for women and the surge in militant attacks in the country. 

Ahmad said Islamabad wished to see a prosperous Afghanistan but warned that Pakistani Taliban fighters were operating from the country. He said that Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) with around 6,000 fighters has safe havens close to the border with Pakistan, posing direct threat to Islamabad’s national security. 

“As part of our defensive measures, Pakistan has confiscated a significant cache of modern weapons originally left behind by international forces in Afghanistan,” Ahmad said. 

Afghanistan has repeatedly rejected Pakistan’s allegations that TTP fighters use its soil to launch attacks against Islamabad. Kabul has urged Pakistan to resolve its security challenges internally, without blaming Afghanistan. 

IRAN-ISRAEL CEASEFIRE

Trump announced the “complete and total” ceasefire between Tehran and Tel Aviv through a social media post on Tuesday, with the development taking place after Iran launched a limited missile attack Monday on a US military base in Qatar.

Iran said it was retaliating for the American bombing of its nuclear sites, adding that as long as Israel stopped its attacks early Tuesday morning, it would halt theirs.

Israel did not immediately acknowledge any ceasefire, but there were no reports of Israeli strikes in Iran after 4 am local time. Heavy Israeli strikes continued in Tehran and other cities until shortly before that time.

The US strikes against Iran over the weekend prompted fears of a wider regional conflict. Iran had said the US had crossed “a very big red line” with its risky gambit to strike with missiles and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs.

Pakistan has consistently denounced Israel’s military action against Iran and in Gaza, calling on the international community to intervene and impose an immediate end to the conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy. 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office this week condemned a suicide attack targeting a church in Syria that killed 25 people, reaffirming its support for efforts aimed at achieving lasting peace in the country. 

Syrian state media reported that a suicide bomber carried out an attack inside the packed Mar Elias Church in Dweil’a on the outskirts of Damascus on Sunday. While no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the Syrian Interior Ministry said a fighter from the Daesh group entered the church and fired at the people there before detonating himself with an explosives vest.

“Pakistan strongly condemns the heinous suicide bombing at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, on 22 June 2025, which resulted in the loss of precious lives and left many injured,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a press release on Monday. 

Islamabad expressed its heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

“Pakistan stands in full solidarity with the brotherly people of Syria in this hour of grief, and reaffirms its strong support for efforts aimed at achieving lasting peace and stability in the country,” the foreign ministry added. 

The church suicide blast was the first of its kind in Syria in years, and came as an interim government in Syria led by President Ahmed Al-Sharaa tries to win the support of minorities.

Syria has made major inroads into the international fold since President Bashar Assad was removed in December 2024 after over a decade of civil war in the restive country. His ouster led to the United States and the European Union lifting its sanctions on the Arab country.