Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday said Pakistan desires resolution to the ongoing regional conflict through negotiations and diplomacy.
Following joint U.S.-Israel airstrikes on Iran last week, Tehran retaliated by targeting U.S. bases in the Middle East, bombing areas of Kuwait, Bahrain, the U.A.E., and Saudi Arabia. The assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has further incensed Iran, which has threatened further reprisals.
Addressing a gathering of the diplomatic corps based in Islamabad, Dar said Pakistan was making all diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation. “We are passing through difficult times in terms of diplomacy. All our efforts are focused on reducing tensions and bringing the parties back to the negotiations,” he said.
The deputy prime minister, who also serves as the foreign minister, said negotiations and diplomacy are the only way forward, adding Pakistan is closely monitoring the situation in Iran. “Pakistan supports the efforts for the peaceful settlement of disputes through diplomacy,” he said.
Referring to the ongoing Middle East conflict, he regretted that a Pakistani national was killed by an attack on the United Arab Emirates. He said Pakistan desired good, friendly relations with all its neighbors, noting he had visited Afghanistan several times and held extensive discussions with the Afghan Taliban leadership on trade and economic matters.
He said Pakistan only asked Afghanistan to deny the use of its soil for terrorism. “We have solid evidence that the soil of Afghanistan was used for terrorism,” he stressed when discussing Pakistan’s ongoing offensive on terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan.
On Palestine, Dar said Pakistan had contributed to finding a solution to the Gaza conflict. He recalled that a group of Arab Islamic countries had last year engaged in meaningful interactions with the U.S. president to bring peace back to Gaza and ensure the supply of humanitarian aid.