Pakistan Vows Continued Diplomacy as US-Iran Tensions Escalate
Pakistan has reaffirmed that it will continue diplomatic efforts aimed at reducing tensions between the United States and Iran despite the latest escalation between the two countries. Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said in Islamabad on Wednesday that Pakistan remained hopeful that dialogue could still provide a pathway toward a peaceful settlement and that recent developments had not ended Islamabad's efforts to facilitate diplomacy.
The Foreign Office said Pakistan had been actively engaged in attempts to prevent a wider regional conflict. Islamabad previously helped facilitate the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and had also played a role in arranging an earlier ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. While that truce reduced the most intense phase of confrontation, subsequent attacks and tensions around the Strait of Hormuz have complicated attempts to achieve a durable settlement.
Andrabi said Pakistan's senior leadership had continued direct diplomatic engagement with Iran as the regional situation evolved. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, where the two leaders discussed developments affecting regional security. According to the Foreign Office, Shehbaz reiterated Pakistan's preference for restraint, negotiations and diplomatic engagement rather than further military escalation.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has also remained involved in the diplomatic process. Andrabi said Dar had held discussions with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi regarding the situation in the Middle East and Gulf region. These contacts form part of Pakistan's broader effort to keep diplomatic channels open while tensions between Tehran and Washington remain elevated.
The spokesperson also referred to Field Marshal Asim Munir's recent visit to Tehran, describing it as another component of Pakistan's diplomatic initiative. Discussions during the visit included regional de-escalation, the Strait of Hormuz and the possibility of moving the conflict toward a negotiated solution. The waterway is strategically important to international energy and commercial shipping, making instability there a significant concern for Pakistan and other regional economies.
Separately, the Foreign Office addressed the Indus Waters Treaty and said Pakistan welcomed a recent ruling by the international arbitration court in The Hague. Andrabi argued that India could not selectively accept international decisions while rejecting others, and said Islamabad viewed the ruling as supportive of Pakistan's position that treaty obligations and international agreements must be respected.
Andrabi also discussed the trilateral cooperation mechanism involving Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye under the Makkah Agreement. A committee established under the arrangement met in Istanbul on August 31, where the three countries agreed to cooperate on issues of shared concern. The mechanism's secretariat will be established in Saudi Arabia, while Pakistan is expected to hold the secretary general position for the first three years.
On Afghanistan, the Foreign Office confirmed that China's special representative had visited Islamabad and met Pakistan's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq. Andrabi also described an appearance by Afghanistan's chargé d'affaires at the National Defence University as a routine academic engagement rather than a signal of any broader policy development. Pakistan is expected to continue diplomatic contacts on multiple regional fronts while maintaining its stated focus on dialogue, de-escalation and negotiated solutions to disputes that directly affect its security and economic interests.