Pakistan Reaffirms Commitment to Maritime Security, Regional Peace and Dialogue

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reaffirmed its commitment to promoting peace and stability in the Gulf and the wider Middle East through dialogue and diplomacy, emphasizing its continued engagement with all relevant parties amid persistent regional tensions.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi said during a press briefing that Islamabad was making sustained efforts to bring the concerned parties back to the negotiating table and remained committed to diplomatic avenues for easing tensions.

He said Pakistan supports freedom of navigation in international waterways and maritime security, adding that the country is a signatory to the maritime coalition announced by Saudi Arabia. Pakistan is committed to implementing the coalition’s declaration aimed at protecting global supply chains and maritime traffic and is prepared to assist Saudi Arabia and other coalition partners in this regard.

The spokesperson also described the Mecca Defense Agreement as purely defensive in nature, stressing that the agreement clearly stipulates that an attack on one country would be considered an attack on all. He said Parliament and other relevant stakeholders had been taken into confidence before the agreement was signed.

Andrabi further stated that the agreement was not limited to only three countries, while noting that the prime minister, deputy prime minister and foreign minister, and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir were fully aligned on the matter.

Addressing regional diplomacy, he said that even if the memorandum of understanding had not been fully implemented, the parties would eventually return to negotiations whenever the logic of dialogue prevailed over the logic of escalating tensions.

The spokesperson also said Pakistan had successfully completed three reviews under its ongoing International Monetary Fund programme. Regarding developments in Jammu and Kashmir, he accused India of attempting to politicize the recent situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and urged New Delhi to focus instead on its record in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.