U.S. senator John McCain said on Sunday (2) there could be "no peace" in Afghanistan or the rest of the region without Pakistan's cooperation, as he visited Islamabad ahead of a review from the United States of its Afghan war strategy.
McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, met Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan's top foreign policy official, and also met army chief general Qamar Javed Bajwa.
"Our relationship is more important perhaps than ever before," McCain told Pakistan TV as he left the meeting.
U.S. president Donald Trump's administration is exploring hardening its approach towards Islamabad over Pakistan-based militants launching attacks in Afghanistan, two U.S. officials said last month.
"We will not have peace in the region without Pakistan," McCain, who was accompanied by senators Lindsey Graham, Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse and David Perdue, said later.
Aziz, who is Special Adviser to the prime minister on Foreign Affairs because pm Nawaz Sharif holds the Foreign Ministry portfolio himself, said that the strategic partnership between Pakistan and the United States was "was critical to achieve peace and stability in the region and beyond".
U.S. officials say they seek greater cooperation with Pakistan, not a rupture in ties, after the review the 16-year-old war in Afghanistan, due in mid-July, where some 8,800 U.S. troops remain to support the Western-backed government.
Experts on America's longest war say militant safe havens in Pakistan have allowed Taliban-linked insurgents a place to plot attacks in Afghanistan and regroup after ground offensives. Critics say Islamabad is not doing enough to crack down on militants such as the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network.
Pakistan argues that it has done a great deal to help the U.S. in tracking down terrorists and points out that it has suffered hundreds of deaths in Islamist militants attacks in response to its crackdowns.
Pakistan last week also reacted sharply when the U.S. State Department on June 26 designated as a terrorist Syed Salahuddin, leader of the largest Kashmiri militant group fighting against Indian rule, accusing the U.S. of acquiescing to the wishes of visiting Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.
Kashmir, ruled in part by India and Pakistan and claimed in entirety by both, is a hot-button issue between the nuclear-armed neighbours, which have fought two of their three wars since independence from Britain over the territory.
Aziz made a point on Sunday of mentioning what the foreign ministry called "gross human rights violations by the Indian security forces in Kashmir" and the international community's "silence".
Security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir have been accused by activists and rights groups of killing up to 100 separatist protesters since new mass anti-India demonstrations broke out in September. India argues its actions are justified.
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)