- Dar urges restraint amid regional tensions.
- Leaders review regional security situation.
- Both sides agree to stay engaged.
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that dialogue and diplomacy remained the only viable path to resolving disputes and ensuring lasting peace during a telephone conversation on Sunday.
The two leaders exchanged views on the evolving regional situation, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office. Dar urged all parties to pursue de-escalation and exercise restraint in line with the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding agreed in June.
US and Iranian forces exchanged heavy missile and drone strikes, with Tehran targeting US facilities in states across the Gulf on Sunday after saying it had again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump had earlier this week declared the end of a ceasefire meant to halt the fighting that the US and Israel began on February 28, though Trump has left the door open to continued negotiations.
The escalation followed several attacks on commercial ships in the area. Iran said it had closed the strait after firing a warning shot that struck a vessel travelling on an unapproved route, and said on Sunday it had disabled a second vessel.
The strait will remain closed until “the end of US interference in this region,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said. About a fifth of the world’s oil supply transited through the Strait of Hormuz before the war, and Iran’s effective blockade of the waterway has caused energy prices to surge, fuelling global inflation.
Meanwhile, the deputy prime minister underscored that “dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable path to resolving disputes and achieving lasting peace and stability in the region”.
He also reiterated Pakistan’s readiness to continue playing a constructive role in promoting and maintaining regional peace and stability.
The Foreign Office said both leaders agreed to remain in close contact.
Araghchi has accused the United States of violating the ceasefire agreement. “There can only be mutual compliance,” he wrote on X on Friday.
On Sunday, Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf posted on X: “The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”
