Pakistan stresses need for restraint, de-escalation in the Iran, US conflict

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan on Tuesday used the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to push for sustained diplomacy in the ongoing United States-Iran crisis, with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar highlighting Islamabad’s role in efforts aimed at reducing tensions between Tehran and Washington.

Addressing a high-level UNSC debate chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the UN headquarters in New York, the deputy prime minister warned that another conflict in the Middle East would have serious regional and global consequences.

“Another prolonged conflict would serve no one,” he told the council. “It would endanger regional peace, disrupt global energy flows, deepen humanitarian suffering and strain an already fragile international order.”

In remarks closely watched because of Pakistan’s diplomatic engagement in the crisis, Dar said Islamabad had consistently advocated for restraint and dialogue because of its ties with both Tehran and Washington.

“As a friendly neighbour of Iran and brotherly countries of the Gulf, and a country with longstanding ties of amity with the United States, Pakistan consistently stood for restraint, de-escalation and a return to diplomacy,” he said.

The foreign minister also publicly acknowledged Pakistan’s continuing mediation efforts. “We have exerted our sincere efforts in facilitating a durable solution that results in lasting peace and stability in the region, and keeps maritime routes open for all,” he said.

“I thank the parties for the confidence reposed in Pakistan, and thank all our partners — including China, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye and Qatar — for their support,” he added.

Dar referred to his March 31 visit to Beijing, where Pakistan and China jointly announced a “Five Point Initiative for Restoring Peace and Stability in the Gulf and Middle East Region”.

“The entire world is watching — we must succeed in the interest of regional and global peace and security,” he said.

The debate, held under China’s presidency of the Security Council, focused on “Upholding the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter and Strengthening the UN-Centred International System”. Chinese officials have said the session was aimed at reinforcing the relevance of the UN Charter and promoting multilateral diplomacy amid growing geopolitical instability.

Dar also reiterated Pakistan’s longstanding positions on Kashmir and Palestine while sharply criticising what he described as the selective application of international law.

“The crisis of the international system today is not caused by the absence of principles,” he said. “The crisis lies in their selective application.”

“When sovereignty is defended in one case but disregarded in another, the Charter is weakened,” he added. “When occupation is condemned in one region but tolerated and even supported in another, justice is diminished.”

On Kashmir, he said: “For nearly eight decades, the Jammu and Kashmir dispute has remained unresolved despite clear and multiple Security Council resolutions promising the Kashmiri people their right to self-determination.”

He also criticised attempts to place the Indus Waters Treaty ‘in abeyance.’

“Water must never be weaponised; treaties must be honoured,” he said.

On Palestine, the foreign minister said there could be “no durable peace in the Middle East while occupation, collective punishment, forced displacement and illegal expansion of settlements continue”.

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for “an independent, viable and contiguous State of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital”.

Dar also called for comprehensive reform of the UNSC, arguing that the current international order could only be strengthened through “consistency, equity and respect for law”.

“Multilateralism cannot mean the management of global affairs by a few,” he said. “It must mean the participation, voice and dignity of all.”

The crisis of the international system, he said, was not caused by the absence of principles but in their selective application. “When powerful states act outside the law, smaller states are left to wonder whether the Charter protects all nations equally,” he added.

Dar also held a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the session with foreign ministers and senior UN officials, including Secretary-General António Guterres.

China’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, the host of Tuesday’s meeting, cautioned against glorifying the history of aggression, urging all member states to align their policies with the Charter.

The Security Council’s permanent five members should increase communication and seek “maximum commonality”, he added.

“We must strengthen the authority of the Security Council for greater ability to act,” he stressed, calling it “the most authoritative and legitimate body in the multilateral security system”.

Secretary-General António Guterres stressed the need to settle international disputes must by peaceful means; and urged that “all states — large and small — must act in conformity with international law.”

Today, however, “we are witnessing a dangerous erosion of respect for international law,” he said.

Geopolitical divisions are deepening, and “too often, this council fails to act with unity and purpose”. Conflicts are proliferating and intensifying, while an accelerating arms race is taking hold, he said.

Foreign minister sees busy day of engagements in New York

On the sidelines of the debate, Dar will hold a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts as well as the UN leadership to “discuss bilateral relations, regional developments, and cooperation at the multilateral level”, according to a press release by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN.

It added that the engagements will include meetings with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as well as Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov; Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister Manuel Tovar and former vice president Rebeca Grynspan; Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani; Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla; Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka of the Czech Republic; and Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio.

In the evening, Dar will attend a dinner hosted by Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN with ambassadors and permanent representatives of various Arab-Islamic and European countries, the statement said.

In a post on the social media platform X, the FO also said that Dar would attend the debate.

“He will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts, as well as senior UN officials,” it said.

It said that upon arrival, Dar was received by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad and Consul General of Pakistan in New York Aamer Ahmad Atozai.

The FO had earlier stated that Dar was also scheduled to attend a meeting of the Group of Friends on Global Governance during his visit.

Beijing has also warned that rising geopolitical turbulence is placing unprecedented strain on multilateral institutions and the broader international system.

Pakistan is expected to align with China’s position on strengthening the United Nations and supporting dialogue-based approaches to conflict resolution. Diplomatic sources say that Dar would reiterate Islamabad’s longstanding view that disputes should be resolved peacefully and within the framework of the UN Charter.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was also invited by the Chinese to take part in the debate, will not be present after being denied a visa by the host nation.

According to the Iranian state-run IRNA news agency, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei told a press briefing on Monday that Araghchi would not be travelling to New York to participate in the meeting “due to visa issues”.