Pakistan in contact with several countries to defuse Middle East tensions: Dar

DPM says Pakistan believes tensions can ease through talks, mutual understanding

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Tuesday that Pakistan is actively working through diplomatic channels to help bring the parties involved in the Middle East conflict to the negotiating table.

Briefing the Senate of Pakistan, Dar said Pakistan issued its first reaction to the situation on February 28, after which reports emerged about the martyrdom of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He added that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had issued a statement expressing sorrow over the development.

The foreign minister recalled that when Iran was attacked in June last year, Pakistan had also made efforts at that time to help defuse tensions. Following the recent attack on Iran, he said, Pakistan has again been trying to ease the situation through backchannel diplomacy.

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Dar told the Senate that over the past three days, Pakistan has been in contact with several countries in an effort to bring diplomacy back to the forefront and encourage dialogue. He said Pakistan believes that issues can be resolved through talks and mutual understanding rather than escalation.

Sharing details of his recent engagements, Dar said he had spoken late at night with the foreign minister of Oman. He emphasised that Iran is Pakistan’s neighbouring and brotherly Muslim country, and noted that some of the information he was sharing with the Senate had not even been disclosed to the media.

Pakistan, he said, remains committed to playing a constructive role in reducing tensions and promoting dialogue in the region.