Pakistan concerned over US-Iran tensions, reaffirms role in de-escalation: FO

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office said on Thursday that Pakistan had expressed concern over the escalating standoff between Iran and the United States, departing from its recent silence on the issue, and said Islamabad would continue its constructive role in easing tensions.

“Contrary to our recent silence, Pakistan has expressed concern over the growing tension between Iran and the US,” FO spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi told the weekly briefing. “Pakistan will continue to play its positive role in this regard,” he said, adding that dialogue between the two sides was ongoing.

Andrabi said the situation in the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait was “concerning,” and that talks were under way to reduce tensions in the region. “The Iran-US tension should not spread to other parts of the region,” he said.

The spokesperson said Pakistan had seen Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry statement that the kingdom had been targeted by drone attacks launched from Iraq. Asked why Islamabad had not commented on the strikes earlier, he said: “We don’t issue a statement on every activity.”

He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had held a telephone conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last week, part of a wider diplomatic outreach amid the regional crisis. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke by phone with his Saudi counterpart on July 25 and also contacted Jordan’s foreign minister, he added.

On other matters, Andrabi dismissed a recent DW TV documentary as “baseless and far from facts,” saying Pakistan had “complete confidence in our command and control system.” The documentary sparked criticism over its portrayal of the country’s nuclear programme, with officials arguing that it presents a biased narrative while overlooking the historical context behind Pakistan’s strategic policy.

He also called India’s move to grant legal cover to its occupation of Jammu and Kashmir “condemnable,” and said Pakistan, as host of the upcoming SCO summit, would invite all member heads of state. Reiterating condemnation of India’s use of pellet guns in occupied Kashmir, he said the matter was “on record with the UN human rights office,” despite New Delhi calling the weapon a crowd-control tool. “Pakistan has always condemned the use of pellet guns,” he said.

On bilateral matters with India, the spokesperson said both countries had issued visas to each other’s diplomatic staff, though he had no figures on the numbers involved, calling it “routine practice” when personnel terms end. He said the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and the Pakistan-Qatar joint statement “remain valid and in place,” and that both sides could refer back to them. Elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, he added, were “part of the democratic process.”

Andrabi said Kuwait’s foreign minister had completed an official visit to Pakistan the previous day, during which Dar “welcomed Kuwait’s ratification of the defence agreement.” He said the two countries’ June 2023 defence cooperation pact was “now fully operational” and was being strengthened further through joint exercises and military training. Pakistan also maintained close defence ties with Jordan and Bahrain, he said, adding that details would be shared “if a defence agreement is reached” with either country.

The spokesperson said Dar attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Kyrgyzstan, where he held several meetings with counterparts, and had met a visiting US Congressional delegation two days earlier. He said Pakistan, along with foreign ministers of other Muslim countries, had condemned “ongoing Israeli violations” in Al-Quds and Palestine on July 24, and that Pakistan and Egypt had held their annual bilateral consultations virtually.

On Afghanistan, Andrabi said the TTP and other militants operating from Afghan soil “neither wear uniforms nor carry badges,” and that both Afghanistan-based groups and some Afghan nationals were involved in activities hostile to Pakistan. He said ground verification of information from Afghanistan was “extremely difficult” given the number of armed groups active there, adding: “It is not surprising for any armed group to take control of an area.”