Dar warns UNSC over Middle East tensions

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday called for restraint and de-escalation in the Middle East, warning the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that another prolonged conflict would endanger regional peace and further strain the fragile international order.

Dar arrived in New York on Tuesday to participate in a high-level UNSC debate convened under China's presidency. The high-level debate is titled "Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Upholding the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter and Strengthening the UN-Centered International System".

Addressing an open debate, Dar, while referring to the ongoing efforts to achieve a resolution to the conflict between Iran and the United States, stated that the principle of peaceful settlement must apply equally to all long-standing disputes on the Security Council's agenda.

"The entire world is watching. We must succeed in the interest of regional and global peace and security," he told the 15-member UNSC. "As a friendly neighbour of Iran and brotherly countries of the Gulf, Pakistan consistently stood for restraint, de-escalation and a return to diplomacy."

Dar said that during his recent visit to Beijing, Pakistan and China had announced a five-point initiative for peace and stability in the Gulf and Middle East, while warning that another conflict would be a great threat not only for the region but for the entire world.

"Another prolonged conflict would serve no one," the foreign minister warned. "It would endanger regional peace, disrupt global energy flows, deepen humanitarian suffering and strain an already fragile international order," he said.

Pakistan, he added, had worked to facilitate "a durable solution that results in lasting peace and stability in the region and keeps maritime routes open for all". The world is facing "deepening divisions and growing disregard for international law, he said, stressing the need for a stronger UN-centred international system.

"At a time of deepening divisions and growing disregard for international law, China's call for a strong UN-centred international system is most timely and vital," Dar said, describing the UN Charter as "the moral foundation of the international order".

The UN Charter, he continued, affirmed the sovereignty and equality of states, prohibited the threat or use of force, and upheld the peaceful settlement of disputes and the right to self-determination. "For Pakistan, these principles of the UN Charter are sacrosanct," he said.

"They are the foundation of our foreign policy, the basis of our international engagement and the guiding framework for our contribution to peace and security," he said. "Pakistan is committed to the UN through peacekeeping efforts and advocacy for decolonisation, sovereignty and conflict prevention."

The foreign minister said that "diplomacy is not weakness, dialogue is not concession, and peaceful settlement is not an option of last resort". He stressed: "It is the first duty of states under the Charter for promoting international peace and security."

Turning to South Asia, Dar reiterated Pakistan's position on the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) dispute, saying durable peace in the region could not be achieved without the implementation of UN resolutions.

"For nearly eight decades, the Jammu and Kashmir dispute has remained unresolved despite clear and multiple Security Council resolutions promising the Kashmiri people their right to self-determination," he said.

"Durable peace in South Asia cannot be built on denial, unilateralism or repression, nor can it co-exist with attempts to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. Water must never be weaponised. Treaties must always be honoured."

On Palestine, Dar said peace in the Middle East would remain elusive while "occupation, collective punishment, forced displacement and illegal expansion of settlements continue". He reaffirmed Pakistan's support for the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.

Dar said the crisis facing the international system stemmed not from a lack of principles, but from their uneven implementation. "When sovereignty is defended in one case but disregarded in another, the Charter of the UN is weakened," he warned.

"When Security Council resolutions are invoked selectively, the credibility of this Council is eroded. This selectivity is very dangerous. It breeds mistrust, fuels grievances, encourages unilateralism, and weakens the very multilateral system we all claim to uphold."

Calling for reforms to the Security Council, Dar said the body should become more representative, democratic, transparent, accountable and effective. However, he stressed that any reforms must not enlarge privilege or create new permanent centres of power.

Concluding his remarks, Dar said peace could not be reduced to the absence of conflict. "Peace is not merely the silence of guns," he said. "Peace is the presence of justice, the protection of civilians, the dignity of people, the promise of development, and the hope of equal rights for all."

During his New York visit, Dar is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from various countries, as well as senior United Nations officials, to discuss regional and international developments and matters of mutual interest.