pThe Foreign Office (FO) said on Wednesday that Pakistan, as a signatory to the recently announced multinational maritime defence coalition, would implement its commitments in full earnest./p pThe statement comes following the a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2022293"deaths/a of three Pakistani sailors in Houthi strikes on a Saudi cargo ship on Tuesday./p pLast month, Riyadh unveiled plans for a multinational maritime defence coalition to protect shipping and energy supply routes in the Red Sea region. Fourteen countries, including Pakistan, Turkiye and Egypt, backed the coalition in a joint statement./p pAnswering questions at a weekly press briefing, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi elaborated that Pakistan was a signatory of the recent joint statement supporting a multinational maritime defence coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, to protect shipping and energy supply routes./p pPakistan is a signatory to this maritime coalition communique and we will implement it with full earnest, Andrabi said, adding that the country was engaged with the Saudi authorities in this regard./p pAndrabi further said that on the directions of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Pakistan was ascertaining the details of the agreement./p pIn his opening statement, the FO also said that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvis a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2022296"visit to Iran/a was aimed at discussing bilateral relations, security-related matters and regional developments, particularly peace and stability in the region./p pHe said Naqvi who arrived in Tehran on Tuesday was holding meetings with senior Iranian officials./p pHe added that the visit provides the two countries the opportunity to discuss bilateral relations, security-related matters, and regional development, with a particular focus on efforts to promote peace, stability, and constructive engagement amongst the parties in the region and regional developments./p pNaqvi was received in Tehran by his Iranian counterpart, Eskandar Momeni, and later held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iranian media reported./p pA diplomatic source had told emDawn/em from Tehran that the principal objective of Naqvis visit was to follow up on the a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2009003"Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding/a and Pakistans mediation between Iran and the US./p pSpeaking further on Pakistans mediation efforts between the US and Iran, Andrabi reiterated that Pakistan remained engaged alongside brotherly states in sincere efforts to work towards a resolution to the crisis./p pPakistan is making all-out efforts to bring the two parties to the negotiating table and the Islamabad MoU and pave the way for peace and stability in the region, he said./p pHe also warned that Pakistan would continue to offset spoilers using direct and indirect channels and ensure the continuation of constructive dialogue to resolve outstanding issues./p pDuring the QA session, responding to a question regarding the status of the Islamabad MoU, the spokesperson said, Whenever the rationality for dialogue will overcome the logic of escalation, the template for peace is provided in the Islamabad MoU and Pakistan-Qatar joint statement./p pThe current deadline for the 60-day period for US-Iran negotiations under the Islamabad MoU is Aug 17. Andrabi, however, noted that this deadline can always be extended if there is the intention to hold dialogue./p pEven then, five days still remain, so we are not closing the chapter, he added. But we hope that even if the deadline is not implemented, the extension will take place eventually and the parties will revert to dialogue./p pAsked about the basis for Pakistans continued optimism amid the US-Iran conflict, the spokesperson said, As a mediator and facilitator of talks, we remain optimistic that a solution is in sight./p pHe pointed out that during the conflict, the countries had cycled through periods of heightened escalation followed by relative calm and eventual dialogue. He termed this the natural progression of any armed conflict of international significance./p pWe are not discouraged by escalations, as much as we do not get overly optimistic when there is a period of calm, he said, while highlighting Pakistans sustained engagement with the parties to resolve the conflict./p pThe country would continue its engagement with optimism that ought to be there in any credible facilitator and mediator, he added./p h2a id"makkah-pact-reflects-resolve-for-sharing-burden-of-regional-peace" href"makkah-pact-reflects-resolve-for-sharing-burden-of-regional-peace" class"heading-permalink" aria-hidden"true" title"Permalink"/aMakkah pact reflects resolve for sharing burden of regional peace/h2 pThe FO spokesperson also spoke of the defence pact a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2021248"signed/a last week between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, which he said was highlight of the week./p pThe joint defence agreement, signed in Makkah on Friday, aims to strengthen collective deterrence and empowers its signatory states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them./p pHe said the agreement reflected the three nations commitment to further strengthen their collective security, promoting peace security and promoting peace security and stability in the region and beyond./p pHe said the agreement reflected the long-standing brotherly relations among the three countries and displays our resolve for sharing the burden of regional peace and security./p pThe agreement is purely defensive in nature and allows unified efforts to confront threats and security challenges to the member states, Andrabi added, recalling Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dars a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2021923"statement /acongratulating the nation on the agreement on August 10, wherein he held the agreement was defensive in nature and not against any country./p pResponding to a question, he noted that while the agreement was open to other countries, he was not particularly aware of which specific countries may join it in the future. He also said that he was not aware of any consultations with the US and China regarding the agreement, calling this a matter of diplomatic exchange, but noted that channels of communication with both countries remained open./p h2a id"fo-rejects-indian-meas-baseless-remarks-on-ajk" href"fo-rejects-indian-meas-baseless-remarks-on-ajk" class"heading-permalink" aria-hidden"true" title"Permalink"/aFO rejects Indian MEAs baseless remarks on AJK/h2 pWhen asked about the Indian Ministry of External Affairs a rel"noopener noreferrer" target"_blank" class"link--external" href"https://www.facebook.com/PressTrustofIndia/videos/the-ministry-of-external-affairs-called-on-the-international-community-to-hold-p/1598930701771301/"recent remarks /aregarding alleged human rights abuses in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the FO spokesperson rejected the baseless statement. The region has been gripped by unrest since early June as a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2021864"elections /aare also being held./p pIndias professed concerns for human rights in AJK are disingenuous given its own well-documented record for repression in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, including excessive use of force, arbitrary detention, suppression of political freedom and sweeping powers under the draconian laws enacted there./p pHe added that Indias politicisation of developments in AJK was misleading and cannot divert attention from the stark realities in Indian illegally occupied Kashmir./p pPakistan remains fully committed to the protection of fundamental rights and the democratic freedom of AJK, he said./p pHe added that rather than making such statements over AJK, India would be well advised to honour commitments made by its founding fathers and uphold the right of the people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir to freely determine their future through a United Nations plebiscite in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions./p
pThe Foreign Office (FO) said on Wednesday that Pakistan, as a signatory to the recently announced multinational maritime defence coalition, would implement its commitments in full earnest./p pThe statement comes following the a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2022293"deaths/a of three Pakistani sailors in Houthi strikes on a Saudi cargo ship on Tuesday./p pLast month, Riyadh unveiled plans for a multinational maritime defence coalition to protect shipping and energy supply routes in the Red Sea region. Fourteen countries, including Pakistan, Turkiye and Egypt, backed the coalition in a joint statement./p pAnswering questions at a weekly press briefing, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi elaborated that Pakistan was a signatory of the recent joint statement supporting a multinational maritime defence coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, to protect shipping and energy supply routes./p pPakistan is a signatory to this maritime coalition communique and we will implement it with full earnest, Andrabi said, adding that the country was engaged with the Saudi authorities in this regard./p pAndrabi further said that on the directions of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Pakistan was ascertaining the details of the agreement./p pIn his opening statement, the FO also said that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvis a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2022296"visit to Iran/a was aimed at discussing bilateral relations, security-related matters and regional developments, particularly peace and stability in the region./p pHe said Naqvi who arrived in Tehran on Tuesday was holding meetings with senior Iranian officials./p pHe added that the visit provides the two countries the opportunity to discuss bilateral relations, security-related matters, and regional development, with a particular focus on efforts to promote peace, stability, and constructive engagement amongst the parties in the region and regional developments./p pNaqvi was received in Tehran by his Iranian counterpart, Eskandar Momeni, and later held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iranian media reported./p pA diplomatic source had told emDawn/em from Tehran that the principal objective of Naqvis visit was to follow up on the a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2009003"Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding/a and Pakistans mediation between Iran and the US./p pSpeaking further on Pakistans mediation efforts between the US and Iran, Andrabi reiterated that Pakistan remained engaged alongside brotherly states in sincere efforts to work towards a resolution to the crisis./p pPakistan is making all-out efforts to bring the two parties to the negotiating table and the Islamabad MoU and pave the way for peace and stability in the region, he said./p pHe also warned that Pakistan would continue to offset spoilers using direct and indirect channels and ensure the continuation of constructive dialogue to resolve outstanding issues./p pDuring the QA session, responding to a question regarding the status of the Islamabad MoU, the spokesperson said, Whenever the rationality for dialogue will overcome the logic of escalation, the template for peace is provided in the Islamabad MoU and Pakistan-Qatar joint statement./p pThe current deadline for the 60-day period for US-Iran negotiations under the Islamabad MoU is Aug 17. Andrabi, however, noted that this deadline can always be extended if there is the intention to hold dialogue./p pEven then, five days still remain, so we are not closing the chapter, he added. But we hope that even if the deadline is not implemented, the extension will take place eventually and the parties will revert to dialogue./p pAsked about the basis for Pakistans continued optimism amid the US-Iran conflict, the spokesperson said, As a mediator and facilitator of talks, we remain optimistic that a solution is in sight./p pHe pointed out that during the conflict, the countries had cycled through periods of heightened escalation followed by relative calm and eventual dialogue. He termed this the natural progression of any armed conflict of international significance./p pWe are not discouraged by escalations, as much as we do not get overly optimistic when there is a period of calm, he said, while highlighting Pakistans sustained engagement with the parties to resolve the conflict./p pThe country would continue its engagement with optimism that ought to be there in any credible facilitator and mediator, he added./p h2a id"makkah-pact-reflects-resolve-for-sharing-burden-of-regional-peace" href"makkah-pact-reflects-resolve-for-sharing-burden-of-regional-peace" class"heading-permalink" aria-hidden"true" title"Permalink"/aMakkah pact reflects resolve for sharing burden of regional peace/h2 pThe FO spokesperson also spoke of the defence pact a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2021248"signed/a last week between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, which he said was highlight of the week./p pThe joint defence agreement, signed in Makkah on Friday, aims to strengthen collective deterrence and empowers its signatory states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them./p pHe said the agreement reflected the three nations commitment to further strengthen their collective security, promoting peace security and promoting peace security and stability in the region and beyond./p pHe said the agreement reflected the long-standing brotherly relations among the three countries and displays our resolve for sharing the burden of regional peace and security./p pThe agreement is purely defensive in nature and allows unified efforts to confront threats and security challenges to the member states, Andrabi added, recalling Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dars a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2021923"statement /acongratulating the nation on the agreement on August 10, wherein he held the agreement was defensive in nature and not against any country./p pResponding to a question, he noted that while the agreement was open to other countries, he was not particularly aware of which specific countries may join it in the future. He also said that he was not aware of any consultations with the US and China regarding the agreement, calling this a matter of diplomatic exchange, but noted that channels of communication with both countries remained open./p h2a id"fo-rejects-indian-meas-baseless-remarks-on-ajk" href"fo-rejects-indian-meas-baseless-remarks-on-ajk" class"heading-permalink" aria-hidden"true" title"Permalink"/aFO rejects Indian MEAs baseless remarks on AJK/h2 pWhen asked about the Indian Ministry of External Affairs a rel"noopener noreferrer" target"_blank" class"link--external" href"https://www.facebook.com/PressTrustofIndia/videos/the-ministry-of-external-affairs-called-on-the-international-community-to-hold-p/1598930701771301/"recent remarks /aregarding alleged human rights abuses in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the FO spokesperson rejected the baseless statement. The region has been gripped by unrest since early June as a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2021864"elections /aare also being held./p pIndias professed concerns for human rights in AJK are disingenuous given its own well-documented record for repression in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, including excessive use of force, arbitrary detention, suppression of political freedom and sweeping powers under the draconian laws enacted there./p pHe added that Indias politicisation of developments in AJK was misleading and cannot divert attention from the stark realities in Indian illegally occupied Kashmir./p pPakistan remains fully committed to the protection of fundamental rights and the democratic freedom of AJK, he said./p pHe added that rather than making such statements over AJK, India would be well advised to honour commitments made by its founding fathers and uphold the right of the people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir to freely determine their future through a United Nations plebiscite in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions./p