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• Foreign minister tells envoys Islamabad involved in diplomatic efforts in Middle East
• Top security official says no hurry to wind up ‘Operation Ghazab lil Haq’
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday said there was no justification for Iran’s attacks against neighbouring Arab countries, condemning the strikes as violations of sovereignty and urging immediate de-escalation in an already fragile region.
Referring to Iran’s retaliatory missile attacks on Gulf states hosting US military bases, he said: “Although Iran said that these attacks are in self-defence and US bases were targeted but there is no justification.”
Mr Dar was briefing the Islamabad based Diplomatic Corps on the evolving situation in Iran and the wider Middle East, amid heightened tensions following US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s subsequent retaliation and recent developments in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations.
“We are doing diplomatic efforts,” Mr Dar said, adding that Islamabad was actively engaged with regional and international partners.
Referring to the reports of attacks on Saudi Arabia with which Pakistan has a defence pact, he said, “We are monitoring the situation very closely.”
Pakistan, which maintains deep strategic, defence and economic ties with Arab countries, issued a strong condemnation of the strikes across the Gulf.
“We deeply condemn the strikes on Saudi, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan,” the foreign minister said, referring to Iranian missile attacks that reportedly targeted US military installations in those countries.
Diplomatic sources said Dar described the past 72 hours as “very, very worrisome,” warning that the escalation risked destabilising an already volatile region and impacting energy markets, trade routes and expatriate communities, including an estimated 2.5 million Pakistanis residing in Saudi Arabia.
He said Pakistan was calling for de-escalation, restraint and diplomacy to restore peace and stability in the region.
“We are supporting peaceful resolution,” he added, aligning Islamabad’s stance with broader calls within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and at the United Nations for dialogue and restraint.
In a separate briefing, a senior security official reaffirmed regional ties, saying: “Pakistan greatly values its decade old brotherly and strategic relations with KSA”, underscoring Islamabad’s longstanding defence and economic partnership with Riyadh.
The official also dismissed speculation that, after Iran, Pakistan could be the next target of US-Israeli military action, terming such perceptions as “devoid of facts”, being spread by “agents of chaos”.
“Pakistan can never be equated with Iran as both countries are different militarily, foreign policy/external engagement wise and internal dynamics,” the official said.
Afghanistan situation
In the same briefing, the official said that Pakistan was in no hurry to wind up ‘Operation Ghazab lil Haq’, and would continue cross-border action against terrorist sanctuaries inside Afghanistan until Kabul offers verifiable guarantees against terrorism facilitation.
“Operations in Afghanistan will end when Afghanistan’s Taliban Regime provides verifiable assurance of compliance to Pakistan’s demand of quitting facilitation of Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hindustan. We are in no hurry,” the top official said in an interaction with journalists on Monday.
He added that “the duration of Pakistan operations depends on actions on ground by Afghan Taliban Regime,” indicating there was no fixed timeline and that de-escalation would be conditional.
Defending the scope and conduct of the current campaign, the official said the targets were specific and intelligence-driven.
“Pakistan is not resorting to attacking random targets in Afghanistan, rather the infrastructure supportive to terrorists groups are specific targets.”
The official also accused Kabul and New Delhi of orchestrating a disinformation campaign.
Rejecting suggestions that Islamabad was pursuing regime change in Kabul, the official added: “Pakistan has nothing to do with regime change in Afghanistan, it is prerogative of Afghan people.”
‘Only one demand’
Turning to Afghanistan, the foreign minister told envoys that Islamabad had repeatedly raised legitimate security concerns regarding terrorism sanctuaries used for cross-border attacks.
According to Mr Dar, the Afghan regime had failed to address these concerns and instead allowed the situation to deteriorate. “We have only one demand don’t allow TTP, BLA and ISKP to attack Pakistan using Afghanistan soil,” he maintained.
He referred to an unprovoked, coordinated armed attack by Afghan forces along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, which, he said, compelled Pakistan to undertake “measured and precise kinetic actions” to counter the menace of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil.
Officials said the briefing sought to reassure the diplomatic community that Pakistan’s actions were defensive in nature and rooted in international law, while reiterating that Islamabad remained open to dialogue, both with Kabul and with stakeholders in the Middle East, to prevent further escalation.
With tensions running high across two fronts, Dar underscored that Pakistan’s priority remained regional stability. “We are monitoring the situation very closely,” he repeated, signalling that Islamabad would continue diplomatic outreach even as it guarded its security interests.
Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2026
