Pakistan on Thursday reported what it described as “positive progress” in indirect talks held in Doha between Iran and the US, signaling Islamabad could be the venue for future rounds of negotiations.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, during his weekly news briefing, said Pakistan and Qatar had held separate meetings with the Iranian and US negotiators in Doha and that the parties had agreed to continue discussions in the coming period.

“There was positive progress made on issues related to the aspects of the Islamabad MoU, building on the Lake Lucerne Summit,” Andrabi said, adding that the next round of discussions would be scheduled after the funeral of the late Iranian leader.

The spokesperson declined to disclose details of the progress achieved, saying the confidential nature of the talks required discretion. However, he stressed that the dialogue process had not broken down and that mediators remained optimistic.

“We should rejoice in the fact that the dialogue is continuing. The parties are still at the table,” he said.

Asked whether Pakistan could host the next round of negotiations, Andrabi said he could not rule out the possibility of future meetings in Islamabad, though no decision had been made regarding the venue.

The comments came as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to travel to Tehran on Friday to attend the funeral of Ayatollah Khamenei and convey condolences on behalf of Pakistan.

The prime minister’s trip underscores Islamabad’s close ties with Tehran and comes amid Pakistan’s growing diplomatic role in facilitating Iran-US engagement.

Pakistan and Qatar jointly mediated the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last month, which paved the way for renewed diplomatic contacts between Washington and Tehran.

The Foreign Office also used the briefing to sharpen its criticism of India over the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), accusing New Delhi of attempting to use water as a tool of coercion.

Andrabi said Pakistan rejected India’s efforts to link terrorism allegations with its decision to place the treaty in abeyance.

“The real issue is not terrorism. The real issue is the growing disposition within the Indian leadership to treat a shared international river system as a strategic asset that can be controlled, withheld or diverted at will,” he said.

He maintained that no country could turn Pakistan into a “barren land” by blocking its waters and insisted that Pakistan reserved the right to take all available measures to protect its interests under international law.

The spokesperson also reiterated that Pakistan remained committed to implementing the treaty and keeping communication channels open through the Indus Water Commissioners mechanism.

On Afghanistan, the Foreign Office reiterated Pakistan’s concerns over the use of Afghan territory by terrorist groups carrying out attacks inside Pakistan.

Andrabi said Afghan nationals, including one terrorist arrested alive, had been involved in the recent Karachi terrorist attack, prompting Islamabad to summon the Afghan chargé d’affaires and issue a strong demarche.

Responding to questions about Pakistan’s recent cross-border strikes, he said the operations were “targeted, proportional and intelligence-based” and were aimed solely at terrorist hideouts.

He also warned that Pakistan reserved the right to respond to provocations, including drone incursions from across the border, under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

At the same time, the spokesperson acknowledged that strained relations with Kabul were affecting regional connectivity projects, saying that trade and economic initiatives could not move forward if terrorism concerns remained unaddressed.

“There is no change with respect to the diplomatic status of either our envoys or the two embassies in Kabul and Islamabad,” he clarified.