UN Chief Praises Pakistan’s Peace Role in Meeting With Naqvi
NEW YORK: United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres praised Pakistan’s role in supporting peace efforts during a meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi at the UN headquarters on Thursday, placing Islamabad’s diplomatic and security engagement in renewed international focus.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the fifth United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit, where global officials gathered to discuss policing, terrorism, organised crime and cross-border law-enforcement cooperation. The exchange came at a sensitive moment for the region, with renewed tensions in the Gulf and ongoing concerns about militancy originating from Afghanistan.
According to state-run PTV News, Guterres and Naqvi discussed the regional situation as well as wider international developments. Their conversation included Pakistan’s mediation-related role between the United States and Iran, along with Islamabad’s broader record of contributing to international peace and security.
The UN chief’s appreciation was seen as a diplomatic endorsement of Pakistan’s recent efforts to position itself as a constructive regional actor. For Islamabad, the meeting also offered an opportunity to highlight its security concerns while presenting its foreign policy as rooted in dialogue, coordination and multilateral engagement.
Naqvi separately met Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Alexandrovich Kolokoltsev during the summit. The two sides discussed counterterrorism, anti-narcotics cooperation, cybercrime, police training and broader law-enforcement collaboration, including the possibility of joint police exercises and a more coordinated response to terrorist networks operating in the region.
Officials said Pakistan and Russia agreed to move toward a memorandum of understanding between their interior ministries to strengthen institutional cooperation. Naqvi also invited his Russian counterpart to visit Pakistan and stressed that the presence of numerous militant organisations in Afghanistan required collective international responsibility rather than isolated national responses.
The engagements followed Naqvi’s earlier meeting with Chinese Minister of State for Public Security Ling Zhifeng. In that meeting, Pakistan and China reaffirmed cooperation in counterterrorism, border management, action against irregular migration and efforts to curb narcotics networks, while also discussing security for Chinese citizens working in Pakistan.
Pakistan has repeatedly linked its internal security challenges to militant sanctuaries and financing networks across the border. The government has also sought to reassure key partners, especially China, that it is expanding dedicated protection mechanisms and improving coordination among federal and provincial security institutions.
Addressing the UN police summit, Naqvi called for stronger international cooperation against threats that move across borders, including terrorism, organised crime, cybercrime, drug trafficking, human smuggling and money laundering. He argued that modern policing must rely on faster intelligence sharing, better training and the use of new technologies to confront criminals who are adapting rapidly.
For Pakistan, the UN meetings carry both diplomatic and domestic importance. They allow Islamabad to seek support against cross-border militancy while showing that Pakistan remains engaged in global peace, policing and security forums at a time when regional instability could affect trade, energy supplies and public safety.
The next steps will depend on whether the diplomatic meetings lead to practical arrangements, particularly the proposed Pakistan-Russia interior ministry agreement and expanded coordination with China. Islamabad is expected to continue using international platforms to push for joint action against terrorism financing, extremist networks and other transnational threats.