ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Qatar have agreed to strengthen cooperation on internal security and expand their bilateral security partnership, according to an official statement issued on Tuesday, as tensions persist in the Middle East amid continuing hostilities between the United States and Iran.

The agreement came during a meeting between Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, on the sidelines of the Global Security Forum 2026 in Doha. The two officials also discussed regional peace and stability, according to the statement issued by Pakistan’s interior ministry.

“Pakistan and Qatar are working together for regional peace and stability,” Naqvi said, according to the statement.

The Qatari minister, who also commands his country’s Internal Security Force, said Doha attached great importance to its relations with Islamabad.

Both ministers reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation between their interior ministries and discussed ways to expand collaboration in internal security-related sectors.

The meeting came a day after Naqvi addressed the Global Security Forum, where he pledged Pakistan’s continued support for diplomatic efforts to end the conflict between the US and Iran.

Pakistan has played an active role in mediating between Washington and Tehran since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in February, triggering a wider regional conflict.

Islamabad hosted talks between the two sides in April and helped broker an interim peace agreement in June, which collapsed the following month. Hostilities have continued in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime route for global energy supplies.

“Pakistan has always believed that dialogue is better than war,” Naqvi said in televised remarks at the forum on Monday.

The minister also cited the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement, signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye in August, as an example of Islamabad’s commitment to regional security.