India’s relationship with Pakistan remains a unique challenge in global diplomacy due to Islamabad’s longstanding backing of terrorism, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Tuesday. He noted that New Delhi must shape its policies around this “unpalatable reality.”

“There are some exceptions. For us, the relationship with Pakistan is an exception,” Jaishankar said, explaining that Pakistan’s conduct towards India has few parallels in the modern international system.

Challenging critics to find a comparable example, he added: “Show me in the world in this day and age any country which actually has actually pursued the kind of policies that Pakistan has against its neighbour.” Jaishankar said Pakistan’s use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy was neither covert nor episodic, but sustained and visible over decades.

“For decades, you had these training camps, not secret training camps; they’re all training camps in the big cities of Pakistan, very open, where the state, the military supports terrorism,” he said.

Pakistan has sought to legitimise such actions internationally, despite growing global scepticism, EAM Jaishankar added. “And they try to normalise it as though it’s their right to do it,” he said, adding that such narratives no longer find acceptance. “Nobody buys it anymore. Everybody knows that these are people who are supporting the state.”

Describing this as a harsh but unavoidable truth, Jaishankar said India cannot afford to ignore the implications of Pakistan’s actions. “It’s a very unpalatable reality but it’s one which we cannot be oblivious to,” he said.

He stressed that India’s foreign and security policies must be grounded in this assessment. “We have to build our policies, saying okay, that’s how that particular neighbour is going to be,” Jaishankar said.

On New Delhi’s broader approach, he drew a clear distinction between countries that cooperate constructively with India and those that undermine its security. “Those who are willing to work with us and be helpful, positive, we’ll have to deal with them in that way,” he said. “Those who do the kind of things which Pakistan does, we’ll have to deal with it in a different way.”

Citing India’s response in the times of disasters like cyclone in Sri Lanka, earthquake in Myanmar and Afghanistan, Jaishankar said, “When big problem happen to countries and they do not have the capacity to cope with it, they naturally turn to those who do. And in our region, there is a growing belief that the country which can be relied upon in this regard is India.” 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has instructed senior political officials to step up efforts to secure Iran’s water rights from Afghanistan, amid growing concerns over reduced water flows.

According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said at an event in Tehran that Iran and Turkmenistan are entitled to water from the Harirod River, but Afghanistan, as an upstream country, has constructed the Salma Dam, making negotiations necessary to ensure Iran’s share from the dam.

“Yesterday, the president directed the country’s political authorities to be more active on this issue,” Aliabadi said.

He noted that despite numerous rounds of talks with Afghanistan, Iran failed to receive its full water entitlement last year. However, he expressed optimism that improved rainfall this year could help address the shortfall.

Aliabadi said discussions with Afghan officials are ongoing, adding that he has invited Afghan representatives to visit Iran twice and has is ready to extend a third invitation. He also said Iran is prepared to send a delegation to Afghanistan to pursue the matter closely.

Iranian officials have repeatedly voiced concerns over water rights shared with Afghanistan, particularly amid prolonged drought and declining river flows.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has maintained that it remains committed to the water treaty governing the Helmand River, but says severe drought has significantly reduced water volumes.

Former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad on Wednesday proposed a potential security agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan, saying such a deal could be game-changing for relations between the two neighboring countries.

In a post on X, Khalilzad said Pakistan’s military spokesperson Sharif Chaudhry had referred to the Doha Agreement between the United States and the IEA, noting that it was a misunderstanding to suggest the accord addressed Afghanistan–Pakistan issues. Khalilzad emphasized that the Doha Agreement did not cover bilateral relations between Kabul and Islamabad.

However, he said the reference sparked an important idea: a separate agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan focused on mutual security concerns. According to Khalilzad, such an agreement would commit both sides to preventing any individual or group — including Daesh and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — from using their territories to threaten the security of the other country. He added that third-party monitoring could help ensure compliance.

Khalilzad said that based on his recent discussions with IEA leaders, he believes they are willing to negotiate such an agreement. He described the proposal as potentially “game-changing” for relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which have long been strained by security disputes and militant activity.

“The ball is in Pakistan’s court,” Khalilzad said, suggesting that progress now depends on Islamabad’s willingness to engage.

Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have faced repeated tensions in recent years, particularly over militant attacks and accusations that militant groups operate from each other’s territory.