Pakistan reaffirms balanced ties with US, China
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to maintaining strong relations with both China and the United States, stressing that its partnership with Washington should not be seen through the lens of its close ties with Beijing.
Addressing the Pakistani community at the Consulate General in New York, Dar highlighted the country's diplomatic resurgence on the global stage, saying Pakistan had emerged from a period of diplomatic isolation and was now witnessing signs of economic revival.
He called upon the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete steps toward resolving long-standing conflicts, particularly Palestine and the Jammu and Kashmir.
"These disputes are critical for global peace," he said, stressing that the OIC, as the world's second-largest multilateral body, must transition from a symbolic role to a decisive one. He reiterated Pakistan's stance that a two-state solution remained the only viable resolution to the Palestinian crisis.
Dar termed the UN Security Council Resolution 2788 a diplomatic victory for Pakistan. The resolution, adopted unanimously under Pakistan's presidency, focuses on "strengthening mechanisms for the peaceful resolution of disputes". On Pakistan-India relations, Dar expressed Islamabad's willingness to engage in talks if invited, stating that resolving the Kashmir issue could unlock regional development, tourism, and investment. "Pakistan is ready for US mediation, but India's consent is necessary," he said.
"If the US plays a proactive role, Kashmir dispute could be resolved," the foreign minister told the gathering. He welcomed the possibility of US President Donald Trump's visit to Pakistan, but said that any formal announcement would be made by both the countries.
He reaffirmed Pakistan's resolve to defend its sovereignty and regional stability, recalling the country's firm and resolute response during Operation Bunyanum Marsoos that led to the downing of six Indian aircraft. He praised the unity demonstrated by the nation and the diaspora during that critical moment.
Rejecting India's allegations against Pakistan, Dar stated that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) had already been dismantled, while the US had not provided evidence against the so-called "TRF" – the outfit India had blamed for the Pahalgam attack in April.
On regional situation, Dar emphasised Pakistan's outreach to Afghanistan with a view to enhancing regional connectivity through rail and trade corridors to Central Asia. He hoped Afghan soil would not be used for terrorism, noting the recent assurances received from the Afghan authorities in that regard.
He also mentioned Pakistan's diplomatic efforts for de-escalating the Iran-Israel hostilities. He said the Iranian president would visit Pakistan soon. He reiterated Pakistan's commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine.
Economic recovery
Painting an optimistic outlook, Dar noted a sharp decline in inflation from 40% to 2.4% as of January 2025, crediting government policies and international engagement. "The global credit rating agencies have acknowledged Pakistan's improved macroeconomic outlook," he said.
He outlined key government initiatives, particularly the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), designed to streamline investment procedures and unlock opportunities in priority sectors. He said that Pakistan aspired to join the G-20.
He told the Pakistani-American diaspora that the country had successfully completed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. He invited the diaspora to actively contribute to Pakistan's development, particularly in investment, trade, education, and digital innovation.
The DPM assured the community that the government was actively working toward an early resumption of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights, including steps toward restoring routes to Europe and the United Kingdom, in line with international aviation compliance standards.
Concluding his address, Dar reaffirmed Pakistan's belief in diplomacy and dialogue, citing its UN Security Council presidency and efforts to promote peaceful dispute resolution. He also reiterated Pakistan's push for the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, imprisoned in the US.
"Pakistan is no longer isolated — we have friends across the world," Dar declared, underscoring the nation's renewed global standing and economic resurgence under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's leadership.
(WITH INPUT FROM APP)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Two Israeli rights groups accuseTel Aviv of genocide
Thousands holding banners and Israeli flags gather during a demonstration to demand a hostage swap deal with Gaza and the dismissal of the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, in Tel Aviv, Israel on June 22, 2024. PHOTO: ANADOLU AGENCY Two Israeli human rights organisations said on Monday Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the first major voices in Israeli society to level the strongest possible accusation against the state, which vehemently denies it. Rights group B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel released their reports at a press conference in Jerusalem, saying Israel was carrying out "coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza strip". "The report we are publishing today is one we never imagined we would have to write," said Yuli Novak, B'Tselem's executive director. "The people of Gaza have been displaced, bombed and starved, left completely stripped of their humanity and rights." Physicians for Human Rights Israel focused on damage to Gaza's healthcare system, saying: "Israel's actions have destroyed Gaza's healthcare infrastructure in a manner that is both calculated and systematic". Israel has fended off accusations of genocide since the early days of the Gaza war, including a case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice in the Hague that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned as "outrageous". A spokesperson for the Israeli government called the allegation made by the rights groups on Monday "baseless". "There is no intent, (which is) key for the charge of genocide ... it simply doesn't make sense for a country to send in 1.9 million tons of aid, most of that being food, if there is an intent of genocide," said spokesperson David Mencer. A spokesperson for Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Accusations of genocide have particular gravity in Israel because of the origins of the concept in the work of Jewish legal scholars in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust. Israeli officials have in the past said using the word against Israel was libellous and antisemitic. When Amnesty International said in December that Israel had committed genocidal acts, Israel's foreign ministry called the global rights group a "deplorable and fanatical organisation". The 1948 Genocide Convention, adopted globally after the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis, defines genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group". PALESTINIAN PLIGHT GAINING ATTENTION At a Jerusalem cafe, Carmella, a 48-year-old teacher whose grandparents survived the Holocaust, said that she was distressed over the suffering an hour's drive away, inside Gaza. "It feels difficult to me as an Israeli, as a Jew, to watch those images and feel anything but tremendous compassion and horror, to be honest. I feel horror." International attention to the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza has intensified in recent weeks, with UN agencies saying the territory is running out of food for its 2.2 million people. Israel, which controls all supplies in and out of Gaza, says it has let enough food in, and blames the UN for failing to distribute it. Israel shut off all supplies in March for nearly three months, reopening the territory in May but with restrictions it says are needed to prevent aid from ending up in the hands of fighters. Footage widely broadcast in other countries of destruction and casualties in Gaza is rarely shown on Israeli TV. That has been changing, with recent images of starving children having a little more impact, said Oren Persico from The Seventh Eye, a group that tracks trends in Israeli media. "It's very slowly evolving," he said. "You see cracks." But he did not expect the genocide allegation would spark a major shift in attitudes: "The Israeli perception is: 'what do you want from us? It's Hamas' fault, if it would only put down its weapons and (release) the hostages this could all be over'."
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Trump warns of 'real starvation' in Gaza
The United Nations is warning that the world is facing its worst humanitarian crisis since the end of World War II, with more than 20 million people facing starvation and famine in four countries. PHOTO: AFP US President Donald Trump warned Monday that the people of Gaza are facing "real starvation", as aid agencies sought to take advantage of an Israeli "tactical pause" of some military operations to rush in food aid. Speaking in Scotland after meeting Britain's leader, Trump contradicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had earlier dismissed fears of famine in Gaza as Hamas propaganda. Trump said the United States and its partners would help set up food centres to feed the more than two million Palestinians in Gaza facing what UN aid agencies have warned is a deadly wave of starvation and malnutrition. "We're going to be getting some good strong food, we can save a lot of people. I mean, some of those kids -- that's real starvation stuff," he told reporters at a news conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "We have to help on a humanitarian basis before we do anything. We have to get the kids fed," Trump said. Trump's remarks came after Netanyahu, during a reception on Sunday for Trump's spiritual adviser Paula White-Cain in Jerusalem, declared: "There is no starvation in Gaza, no policy of starvation in Gaza." The United States already backs food centres under the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), but the group's operations have come under repeated criticism, with the UN saying hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops while trying to access its sites. The Foundation has also been accused by aid groups of facilitating Israel's military goals. Trump said the UK and European Union would back new food centres that would be easier to access -- "where the people can walk in, and no boundaries". "It's crazy what's going on over there," he added. The war in Gaza has dragged on for almost 22 months, creating a dire humanitarian crisis exacerbated by an Israeli blockade on supplies imposed from March to late May. The easing of the blockade coincided with the beginning of the GHF's operations, which effectively sidelined Gaza's traditionally UN-led aid distribution system, and which have been criticised as grossly inadequate. In recent days, the UN and humanitarian agencies have begun delivering more truckloads of food after the Israeli military declared a daily "tactical pause" in the fighting and opened secure aid routes amid mounting international outrage over hunger in the territory. Jamil Safadi said he had been getting up before dawn for two weeks to search for food, and Monday was his first success. "For the first time, I received about five kilos of flour, which I shared with my neighbour," said the 37-year-old, who shelters with his wife, six children and a sick father in a tent in Tel al-Hawa. Other Gazans were less fortunate. Some complained aid trucks had been stolen or that guards had fired at them near US-backed distribution centres. "I saw injured and dead people. People have no choice but to try daily to get flour. What entered from Egypt was very limited," said 33-year-old Amir al-Rash. Israel's new tactical pauses apply only to certain areas, and Gaza's civil defence agency reported 54 people killed in Israeli attacks on Monday. The Israeli defence ministry's civil affairs agency COGAT said the UN and aid organisations had been able to pick up 120 truckloads of aid on Sunday and distribute it inside Gaza, with more on the way on Monday. Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have begun airdropping aid packages into Gaza, while Egypt has sent trucks through its Rafah border crossing to an Israeli post just inside the territory. Germany on Monday said it would work with Jordan to airlift aid for Gaza, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz saying it would coordinate with France and Britain. "We know that this can only be a very small help for the people in Gaza," Merz said. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, cautiously welcomed Israel's recent moves but warned Gaza needed at least 500 to 600 trucks of basic food, medicine and hygiene supplies daily. "Opening all the crossings and flooding Gaza with assistance is the only way to avert further deepening of starvation among the people of Gaza," UNRWA said. Netanyahu has denied Israel was deliberately starving civilians, but on Monday two local rights groups, B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, accused the country of "genocide" -- a first for Israeli NGOs. The amount of aid entering the territory still falls far short of what is needed, say experts, who have called for a permanent ceasefire, the reopening of more border crossings and a long-term, large-scale humanitarian operation. "We're one-and-a-half days into these new measures. Saying whether or not it is making a difference on the ground will take time," Olga Cherevko, a spokeswoman for the UN's humanitarian agency, told AFP from Gaza. "We know it's not perfect but we want to stay positive and we're seeing positive steps, because, for example, even the fact that all the requests to go and collect cargo yesterday were approved is already a step in the right direction." The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed 59,921 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Chidambaram pokes holes in Modi's Pahalgam narrative
A senior leader of India's Congress party dealt a severe blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi government narrative, saying that there was no proof that the assailants, who carried out the Pahalgam attack on April 22, had come from Pakistan. As Indian forces claimed to have killed "three foreign terrorists" linked to Pahalgam attack in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), former Indian minister P Chidambaram questioned why the government was not releasing the investigation report of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The Indian army claimed in a statement on social media that the three were killed "in an intense firefight" near the major Hindu shrine of Amarnath in the mountains of Dachigam, around 30 kilometres from Srinagar. Though the army did not identify the deceased, a police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity that they were all "foreigners". Two Indian TV news channels, however, claimed that the men were suspected to be behind the Pahalgam attack. In Pakistan, however, the state media while quoting security sources said that India had initiated a new covert military operation, "Operation Mahadev," aimed at staging fake encounters to cover up the failure of its earlier campaign, "Operation Sindoor." Under this plan, according to a Radio Pakistan report, the Indian Army was killing detained Pakistani citizens in staged shootouts, branding them as "terrorists" to mislead the international community. It added that Operation Mahadev aimed at suppressing the freedom movement in IIOJK. On April 22, gunmen shot dead 26 tourists in Pahalgam. with presenting any evidence India blamed Pakistan. Pakistan vehemently denied the accusation and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered an independent investigation into the incident and offered Pakistan's full cooperation. However, in the night between May 6-7, India fired missiles at Pakistani civilian targets in six cities under its 'Operation Sindoor'. However, Pakistan gave a forceful reply, downing six Indian warplanes, including three Rafale jets. Furthermore, Pakistan launched Operation Bunyanum Marsoos in the morning of May 10, hitting 26 Indian military targets, inflicting heavy damage on the enemy's war machines. Hours later India agreed to a ceasefire after intervention from US President Donald Trump. During an interview given to the Indian newspaper 'The Quint', Chidambaram said that the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not yet presented any evidence that those who attacked Pahalgam had come from Pakistan. "The second thing is that the government is not bringing out the report of the NIA to see what the agency investigated during this time. Was the agency able to identify the terrorists? And where did they come from? These terrorists may be local. Why are you assuming that they came from Pakistan?" He said that the Indian government was hiding the losses incurred during the four-day war. When asked what the Indian government was trying to hide, Chidambaram said the government was trying to hide what the Indian Chief of Defence had pointed out that India made strategic mistakes. The Radio Pakistan report said that Operation Mahadev attempts to restore the dwindling political credibility of Modi's government, following the embarrassment of Operation Sindoor, which ended in failure after India's aggressive posturing against Pakistan backfired. According to the report, on April 24, two innocent Kashmiri citizens, Muhammad Farooq and Muhammad Deen, were extrajudicially killed by Indian forces after they mistakenly crossed the border. Additionally, the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) disclosed in April that 723 Pakistanis were illegally detained in Indian jails, with another 56 forcibly disappeared by Indian intelligence agencies. There are growing fears that these detainees may be used in fake encounters under Operation Mahadev, where they could be coerced into recording anti-Pakistan statements before being killed and labelled as "terrorists." The sources indicate that Indian media is being fed fake videos, planted weapons, and staged images immediately after these encounters to reinforce New Delhi's false claims. This tactic mirrors past Indian false flag operations, where innocent individuals were framed as militants to justify military aggression. Operation Mahadev would constitute a grave violation of international law and human rights, the sources say. Pakistan has repeatedly exposed India's history of fake encounters, including the Pahalgam false flag operation earlier this year, which India used to justify its military aggression. Human rights organisations and the United Nations have been called upon to investigate India's alleged atrocities in IIOJK. With tensions still simmering after the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict, the international community must prevent further escalation by holding India accountable for its actions. (WITH INPUT FROM AGENCIES)
