- Pakistan emerged as a key mediator in US-Iran conflict and brokered an interim peace deal in June
- The UNGA session comes in the backdrop of renewed US-Iran hostilities in the Middle East region
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday arrived in New York to attend 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where he will highlight Islamabad’s diplomatic efforts to help end the US-Iran conflict and advance discussions on the Palestine issue, the Pakistani foreign ministry said.
The session, which will include the high-level General Debate on Sept. 22-26, is being held in the backdrop of an intensifying conflict between the United States and Iran in the Middle East, which has seen Iran and Yemen’s Houthis attack regional states.
Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator in the Middle East conflict and brokered an interim US-Iran peace deal in June, though the agreement did not hold for long, and both countries resumed attacks on each other in the Strait of Hormuz and across the wider region.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Monday that FM Dar will participate in ministerial forums and deliver Pakistan’s statements and interventions on key issues of importance to Pakistan, including bilateral, regional and international priorities across the UN agenda.
“He will highlight Pakistan’s ongoing efforts for regional and international peace and stability, and exchange views on important regional and international challenges,” the foreign ministry said in a earlier statement.
“As a reflection of Pakistan’s strong support for the Palestinian cause, DPM/FM will attend several high-level meetings on the issue of Palestine, including meeting of the Group of Eight Arab-Islamic countries, as well as High-level Ministerial Meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution among others.”
Pakistan, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, has consistently condemned Israeli military actions, called for the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into Palestinian territories and supported the establishment of a sovereign, independent, and contiguous Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders.
Dar, who is also the deputy prime minister of Pakistan, will be accompanying PM Shehbaz Sharif for the high-level week of the 81st UNGA session. He will attend a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) contact group on Jammu and Kashmir to highlight Pakistan’s support for the right to self-determination of the people of Kashmir, according to his ministry.
The Pakistani deputy premier will speak at a UN Security Council briefing on artificial intelligence, in addition to attending the high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. He will also chair a meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Council of Ministers.
