Defence committee meeting under Makkah pact to be held soon in Riyadh: Dar

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Friday that a meeting of the Strategic Political Defence Committee (SPDC), established under the Makkah Agreement among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, will be held soon in Riyadh to review the situation on the ground, particularly developments in Saudi Arabia.

“The principals are almost ready, and under the Makkah Accord, the current situation on the ground, particularly the situation in Saudi Arabia, will be examined,” he told a media briefing at the Foreign Office. The outcome and future course of action will be shared once finalized.

Reviewing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s engagements at the 81st UN General Assembly session, Dar said this year’s diplomatic activity was “more than average.” The prime minister presented Pakistan’s perspective on Palestine and Jammu and Kashmir, and highlighted Pakistan’s initiatives on the Pakistan-India conflict and US-Iran tensions. He also warned that disruption around the Strait of Hormuz could hit global energy supplies and raise petroleum prices, and raised the security threat from Afghanistan and Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. The prime minister credited the Field Marshal and the Foreign Office, and Dar credited Field Marshal Asim Munir, Chief of Defence Forces, for his role in US-Iran mediation.

Dar said Pakistan brought the US and Iran to the table in Islamabad for the first time in 47 years, with six sessions over 21 hours leading to a signing on June 18. On the energy crisis stemming from Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb, he said prices had almost doubled in Pakistan, but the government, despite financial constraints and the IMF programme, approved a fuel relief scheme benefiting millions of owners of two-wheelers, three-wheelers and small four-wheelers of up to 800cc. He added that a Pakistan-moved resolution on multilateralism and peaceful settlement of disputes was adopted unanimously during its UN Security Council presidency, for the first time in 12 years.

On the Makkah pact, Dar said at least six Muslim countries had expressed interest in joining, but new members could not be considered until the secretariat is fully operational, which would take at least a year. The accord is defensive, he said, and open to countries that accept the principles laid down by its three founders; membership decisions will be taken jointly by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. The accord was signed on Aug 7, and its first inaugural meeting was held in Istanbul on Aug 31. The three foreign ministers met in New York and the three army chiefs in Riyadh.

Answering questions, Dar said conflict was not a solution to anything, noting that even after the world wars, warring countries had to sit down and build institutions. On Kashmir, he said Pakistan’s stance was “absolutely clear”: the Kashmiri people must decide their future through a plebiscite under UN Security Council resolutions, India’s actions of Aug 5, 2019 must be reversed, and no demographic change should be allowed. He said that after the Pahalgam incident, Pakistan was blamed at once, but this time the Foreign Office did not let India’s narrative take hold, offering an independent, neutral investigation without delay. When India claimed strikes at 15 places and the downing of F-16s, Pakistan challenged the claims, and India lost its own credibility, he said.

On the Indus Waters Treaty, he said Pakistan does not accept India’s decision to hold it in abeyance, and the civil-military leadership has resolved not to give up “even a drop” of water, which he described as a trust of 250 million people.

Dar also said he attended the Arab-Islamic group of eight meeting on Gaza hosted by Egypt, the four-nation meeting of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Egypt, a UN Security Council briefing on artificial intelligence, OIC Contact Group meetings on Jammu and Kashmir and on Afghanistan (which Pakistan pushed to be held regularly), and a high-level meeting on pandemic prevention and preparedness. He chaired the informal ECO Council of Ministers meeting on Sept 27, and at the France-hosted high-level meeting on the two-state solution reiterated that Pakistan wants a Palestinian state on pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.