ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday stated that Pakistan’s international standing has improved due to the “principled, proactive, and results-oriented diplomacy” pursued by the current leadership.
Dar said this while speaking to the media while giving an overview of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts in 2025. Dar spoke about the Indo-Pakistan war, recent visit to Bangladesh, relations with China, defence agreement with Saudi Arabia, and ties with other important Central Asian and Gulf states.
He hailed Pakistan’s success over India during the military escalation between the two countries in May this year.
He said, “A strong message was sent to the world,” with Pakistan’s May victory. A year ago, Pakistan was “known to be a diplomatically isolated country.”
Speaking on the May conflict, the deputy prime minister said that Pakistani forces thrashed India’s claim of regional hegemony and being the net security provider was tested during the four-day escalation.
He said the attack on Nur Khan Air Base was a big mistake of India, Pakistani forces crushed India’s pride. On the night of May 9, the civil and military leadership decided to respond to India. He said that Pakistan adopted the best strategy and gave a befitting reply to India’s aggression.
Ice breaks with Bangladesh
The deputy Prime Minister also highlighted that a “major ice-breaking breakthrough” occurred with Bangladesh as ties between the two nations revived.
Dar recalled that Hina Rabbani Khar had visited Bangladesh in 2012, but there had been no engagement afterwards because of the “anti-Pakistan” government there.
“My 36-hour visit to Bangladesh was very engaging. I had meetings with the chief executive, the foreign minister and cabinet ministers and advisers,” he observed.
IWT still ‘alive’: DPM Dar urges international action on Indian breaches
“During my time there of 36 hours, I saw great gestures of goodwill for Pakistan,” Dar said, adding that Islamabad will proactively engage with Dhaka after the February polls.
“Pakistan’s diplomacy during the crisis demonstrated our proactive approach and it showed our ability of transforming challenges into opportunities and our thought of effective narrative projection with principled engagement,” the minister said.
Positive ties with the United States: The Deputy Prime Minister said that the US President has told the world more than 60 times about Pakistan’s victory. He said that our trade with the United States has reached USD 13.28 billion. We have a trade surplus, and our anti-terrorism cooperation with the United States has increased. The United States declared the BLA and the Majeed Brigade as global terrorist organizations this year.
Dar hailed the United States’ “proactive role” in the Pak-India ceasefire. “That was why on June 11, we nominated President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize 2026. “President Trump trumpeted the drum of May conflict success the most,” Dar quipped.
“Around 60 times, he reiterated that Pakistan shot down six fighter jets of India. Then he praised the prime minister and the field marshal. The relations with the US have started again towards a positive trajectory,” he said.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that the UN Security Council discussed human rights violations in Kashmir and emphasized that the issue should be resolved through a plebiscite allowing the Kashmiri people to determine their own future.
Ishaq Dar further said that there can be no lasting peace in the region until the Kashmir issue is resolved. India has leveled baseless allegations against Pakistan over the Pahalgam incident.
He said that the government has to make Pakistan an economic power. He said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is making efforts to make the country economically strong and stable.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.