Ishaq Dar shares UNSC agenda, slips in familiar economic commentary

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar shared his agenda for the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting. The high-level meeting on multilateralism and global governance is being held today (Tuesday) in New York.

The 15-member Council meeting will be chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

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An official statement by Deputy PM’s office said that he will reaffirm Pakistan’s strong commitment to the principles of multilateralism and the central role of the United Nations in promoting international peace, security, and sustainable development.

Speaking on the agenda, Ishaq Dar said that he will highlight Pakistan’s priorities in the UN Security Council meeting. “The world is facing various challenges. The Chinese counterpart has also written a letter to me,” he said.

Digressing into his familiar economic commentary, he also said that there was economic instability in Pakistan before 2013. “It was said that whichever government is formed, the country will have to declare default. It was said that it would take 12 to 15 years for Pakistan to stand on its own feet. We won the 2013 election and stabilised Pakistan,” Dar said.

He said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) government reduced electricity load shedding, eliminated terrorism and improved Pakistan’s macroeconomic indicators in three years. “We restored peace in Karachi after 2014. In 2017, we became the 24th economy in the world,” he said.

Continuing, Ishaq Dar said that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) used to be all praises for Pakistan. “We became the 47th economy in the world by 2022, when again Pakistan was on the verge of default. It was a very difficult decision to take the [Pakistan Democratic Movement] PDM government in 2022. We said if politics will happen only if there is a country. We sacrificed our politics to save the country.”

He said that if the government had paid heed to his words, Pakistan would not have been at risk of default. “We are our own enemies and we get involved in petty politics. I used to say that whether IMF is there or not, the country will not default,” he said.

Ishaq Dar lamented that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government brought back terrorism to the country and took the economy on the verge of default again. He said that 35,000-40,000 members of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) returned to the country during PTI’s government, adding that the then leadership freed murderers from prisons and pardoned those involved in serious crimes.

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The deputy PM said that there should be no politics on national affairs. “We should hold ourselves accountable for what we did wrong. We should be aware of the impact that our actions can have on the country,” he said.

He said that the current government had to bring the country back from the brink of economic collapse. “The reduction in policy rate created economic stability,” he said, adding that interest rates have come down from 22 to 12 percent in a year and inflation has been recorded at 2.4 percent in January 2025.

“All political parties should try to move forward for the sake of the country,” Ishaq Dar said.

OIC GROUP MEETING

Yesterday, in his address to the Organisation of Islamic Coperation (OIC) group meeting, Ishaq Dar said that Pakistan is following the OIC agenda. He said, “Serious human rights violations are taking place in Gaza. Everyone will have to play their role for the restoration of Gaza. Diplomatic channels will have to be adopted for a ceasefire in Gaza and steps are necessary to stop Israeli aggression in the West Bank.”

He said that the solution to the Palestinian issue should be in accordance with UN resolutions. “Pakistan condemns all forms of terrorism. Israel should ensure compliance with the ceasefire agreement,” he added.

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The deputy PM said that Pakistan considers the OIC as its core constituency, adding that OIC’s priorities are Pakistan’s priorities.

He also spoke on continuing Indian aggravation in occupied Kashmir, saying, “The international community should take notice of the ongoing Indian atrocities in Kashmir.”