Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has warned that India’s decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance poses “a real threat to regional stability”, urging its immediate reversal while calling for water to remain “a source of cooperation, not weaponised for politics”.
Speaking at the EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum Roundtable, Dar said South Asia was once again facing “deliberate acts of aggression risking peace and security”, adding that some regional actors were engaging in “accusations, inflammatory rhetoric, inciting war hysteria, and then using it as a pretext for aggression and unilateral actions”.
He appreciated what he described as the “constructive role” played by international partners, including the EU High Representative, in efforts to calm the recent escalation.
Dar stressed that durable peace in South Asia remains impossible without a peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, saying it must align with “relevant UNSC resolutions and Kashmiri aspirations”.
Turning to Afghanistan, the foreign minister said the country “remains a consequential relationship for Pakistan and regional stability”. He reiterated Islamabad’s desire for “a peaceful, stable, friendly, connected, and prosperous Afghanistan”, urging the Afghan Taliban regime “to act responsibly, honour their commitments, and work toward rooting out terrorism from its soil”.
Earlier, Dar opened his remarks by describing a world under mounting strain — from rising conflicts and major-power rivalries to food insecurity, inflation, cyber threats, and AI-driven disruptions. “We stand at a pivotal moment,” he said. “Yet our collective ability to respond is weakening. Multilateralism is under siege; our international system remains fragmented.”
He argued that the Indo-Pacific should not become a theatre of great-power rivalry. “Constructs like the Indo-Pacific overlook the region’s geographical, historical, and cultural realities,” he said, insisting that “inclusivity, not exclusivity, must guide our cooperative approach”.
Dar also highlighted Pakistan’s July presidency of the UN Security Council, during which Islamabad spearheaded Resolution 2788 (2025) aimed at strengthening mechanisms for peaceful dispute resolution. Pakistan’s broader security outlook, he said, seeks “to maximise convergences and minimise divergences through dialogue, connectivity, and peaceful dispute resolution”.
On the Middle East situation, Dar condemned the continuing violence in Gaza and the occupation of Palestinian land. He welcomed the Peace Agreement signed in Sharm El-Sheikh through efforts led by President Donald Trump and Arab-Islamic countries. Pakistan, he said, backed the latest UNSC resolution on Gaza, expecting it to deliver a “permanent cessation of hostilities, Israeli withdrawal, unhindered humanitarian access, and reconstruction”.
“Our policy is grounded in the criticality of a credible, time-bound political process,” he said, reiterating Pakistan’s support for an independent and contiguous Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Addressing the conflict in Ukraine, Dar said the war had disrupted global food and energy markets “with real consequences for our people”. Pakistan’s position, he noted, “is anchored in the UN Charter”, and Islamabad hopes for a peaceful resolution.
Dar closed by pointing to the European Union’s model of cooperation as an example of how inclusivity can deliver peace and prosperity. Pakistan, he said, sees regional connectivity as its own pathway, positioning itself as a hub bridging Asia and Europe. He said synergies between the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the EU’s Global Gateway could help build “green, digital, and transport corridors” that support a more interconnected EU-Asia-Pacific region.
