Pakistan becoming safe haven for Hamas poses threat to West: Report

Washington, Jan 22 (IANS) The threat of Hamas gaining an ideological and logistical foothold in Pakistan, particularly in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), is genuine and credible. While the global community focuses on demilitarising Hamas in Gaza, it must recognise that Pakistan is becoming the next fertile ground for Hamas to reorganise, posing a risk to the West and its interests in the region, a report said on Thursday.

“On January 15, 2026, the US-led intergovernmental organisation Board of Peace, whose stated purpose is to ‘promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict’ in Gaza, was established. On January 18, US President Donald Trump, acting as chair of the organisation, invited Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to join it. However, Pakistan allows Hamas representatives to operate freely on its soil, participate in public events, and forge alliances with local militant groups,” a report in US-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) detailed.

“This conduct undermines Western efforts to diplomatically isolate Hamas and raises serious questions about whether the United States should continue to regard Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally,” it added

According to the report, soon after the brutal Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, against Israel, the political activities of Naji Zaheer, the current special representative to Hamas leader Khaled Mashal in Pakistan, to gather legitimacy and support for Hamas's terrorist activities, escalated.

“Zaheer has been invited to participate in major events as a guest of honour and has become a fixture at anti-Israel rallies and conferences in Pakistan. Often, Zaheer shared stages with figures linked to U.S.-designated terrorist organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM),” it mentioned.

Additionally, the report said, in an effort to garner international support, the Special Representative of Hamas in Tehran, Khaled Qaddoumi, has also been attending rallies and events at Pakistani institutions since October 2023.

“The presence of Zaheer and Qaddoumi at events and rallies in Pakistan signals Islamabad's tacit support for Hamas's agenda. This should raise alarms in Washington as it realises that Pakistan has no serious commitment to counterterrorism,” it stated.

The report stressed that marking Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5, 2025, militant groups, along with the Pakistani military and government, held several events in PoK, which were also attended and addressed by jihadi commanders and Hamas leaders.

“Hamas's reach into Pakistan's political sphere is evident. Along the years, the jihadi movement met with several Pakistani ambassadors,” it noted.

--IANS

scor/as