Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday discussed the latest situation in the Middle East with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and the two sides agreed to make joint efforts for peace in the region, Foreign Office said.
According to a statement of the Foreign Office, Qureshi telephoned Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and exchanged views on tensions in the Middle East and overall security situation in the region.
It stated that Foreign Minister Qureshi told his Russian counterpart that rise in tension in the Middle East could pose threat to region's peace and stability, adding the parties concerned should exercise patience to ease the tension.
Qureshi, while reiterating Pakistan's principled stance, made it clear that Pakistan will neither be a party to any new conflict in the region, nor will its land be used against any regional or neighbouring country, it added. "Both foreign ministers agreed to make joint efforts for regional peace," it further stated.
Earlier, the foreign minister briefed an in-camera session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on the current development in the Middle East and the efforts for diffusing the tension between Washington and Tehran.
The meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs held at the Foreign Office in which Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also participated and briefed the panel on important global affairs, including the latest situation in the Middle East, discriminatory laws of the Modi government and the situation in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
While briefing the participants, Qureshi said Prime Minister Imran Khan had made it clear that Pakistan would not become a part of any war and instead it would continue its efforts for restoration of the peace in the region. He said Pakistan had also made it clear that its land would not be used against any neighboring country.
He said contacts were under way to ease tension between the US and Iran. He also updated the committee about his contacts with his counterparts from key regional countries. He said Pakistan was committed to playing a positive role in reducing the tension.
Qureshi said his first telephonic contact was with his Iranian counterpart Jawad Zarif, adding the conversation was 'very helpful.'
"If the situation is worsening further, its effects will be felt throughout the region and the Afghan peace process may also be affected," he added.
The foreign minister maintained that Pakistan's relations with Muslim Ummah were "very good and we want to make them more stable." He said Pakistan had always tried to play the role of a bridge among Muslim Ummah and it would continue to do so.
He said Prime Minister Imran Khan would visit Malaysia in February and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would visit Pakistan in February.
About the situation in India following Modi government's discriminatory laws, he said India imposed discriminatory amendments in the law such as the Citizenship Act, and the NRC, which sought to contain the rights of minorities, especially Muslims.
He said the new laws were motivated by "Hindu Rashtra" and the Hindutva ideology. He said there were widespread protests by the secular forces within India against the discriminatory laws.
He said Gujarat riots, demolition of Babri Masjid and other such incidents reflected the same thinking of the Modi government's Hindutva ideology. Qureshi said Pakistan had voiced concerns on those discriminatory measures at every forum, as those were in clear violation of basic human rights.
He said protests against Indian government measures were on the rise and those were spreading across India. "The situation is so alarming that Prime Minister Modi has to cancel his scheduled visit to Assam," he added.
He said OIC had also reacted to the Indian discriminatory laws imposed against the Muslims.
Qureshi also briefed the committee on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying the government was committed for implementation on the second phase of CPEC.
While speaking, Chairman Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Syed Fakhar Imam suggested that a joint session of Parliament should be convened on the current regional situation.
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