ISLAMABAD: Qatar and Pakistan have sought to deepen their security cooperation, the Qatari interior ministry said on Monday, following talks between the two interior ministers in Doha.
Qatar is one of Pakistan’s closest partners in the Gulf, hosting hundreds of thousands of Pakistani workers and maintaining close cooperation with Islamabad in energy, investment and regional diplomacy.
Most recently, Doha and Islamabad have coordinated diplomatic efforts linked to regional stability, including engagements surrounding the conflict between the United States and Iran in the Middle East.
Qatari Interior Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani on Monday held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Mohsin Naqvi on bilateral security ties, according to the Qatari interior ministry.
“They discussed ways to further strengthen and develop them, in addition to exchanging views on several issues of mutual interest,” the Qatari ministry said on X.
Two Pakistani officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the meeting between the two interior ministers, declining to share further details.
The development comes at a time of a pause in renewed fighting between the US and Iran, which collapsed a Qatar- and Pakistan-mediated ceasefire this month.
Neither the US nor Iran have reported carrying out any attacks for three days — a respite after about two weeks of sustained bombardments that had led to increasing fears of a return to all-out war.
Two regional officials, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks, said on Monday that mediators led by Qatar and Pakistan were working to bridge the gap between Washington and Tehran to return to an interim peace deal reached last month.
The interim deal included a 60-day ceasefire, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and a timetable for a final deal on the US-Iran war that began in Feb., and Iran’s nuclear program.
