• Middle East conflict could destabilise world order, foreign minister warns UN Security Council
• Says Islamabad engaged in efforts to facilitate durable regional solution
• Reiterates Pakistan’s positions on Kashmir, Palestine
UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan on Tuesday used the UN Security Council to push for sustained diplomacy in the ongoing US-Iran crisis, with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar highlighting Islamabad’s role in efforts aimed at reducing tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Addressing a high-level UNSC debate chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the UN headquarters in New York, Mr Dar warned that another conflict in the Middle East would have serious regional and global consequences.
“Another prolonged conflict would serve no one,” he told the council. “It would endanger regional peace, disrupt global energy flows, deepen humanitarian suffering and strain an already fragile international order.”
In remarks closely watched because of Pakistan’s diplomatic engagement in the crisis, Mr Dar said Islamabad had consistently advocated restraint and dialogue because of its ties with both Tehran and Washington.
“As a friendly neighbour of Iran and brotherly countries of the Gulf, and a country with longstanding ties of amity with the United States, Pakistan consistently stood for restraint, de-escalation and a return to diplomacy,” he said.
The foreign minister also publicly acknowledged Pakistan’s continuing mediation efforts. “We have exerted our sincere efforts in facilitating a durable solution that results in lasting peace and stability in the region, and keeps maritime routes open for all,” he said.
“I thank the parties for the confidence reposed in Pakistan, and thank all our partners — including China, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkiye and Qatar — for their support,” he added.
Mr Dar referred to his March 31 visit to Beijing, where Pakistan and China jointly announced a “Five-Point Initiative for Restoring Peace and Stability in the Gulf and Middle East Region”.
“The entire world is watching — we must succeed in the interest of regional and global peace and security,” he said.
The debate, held under China’s presidency of the Security Council, focused on “Upholding the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter and Strengthening the UN-Centred International System”. Chinese officials said the session was aimed at reinforcing the relevance of the UN Charter and promoting multilateral diplomacy amid growing geopolitical instability.
FM Dar also reiterated Pakistan’s longstanding positions on Kashmir and Palestine while sharply criticising what he described as the selective application of international law.
“The crisis of the international system today is not caused by the absence of principles. The crisis lies in their selective application. When sovereignty is defended in one case but disregarded in another, the Charter is weakened,” he added. “When occupation is condemned in one region but tolerated and even supported in another, justice is diminished.”
Kashmir & Palestine
On held Kashmir, Mr Dar said: “For nearly eight decades, the Jammu and Kashmir dispute has remained unresolved despite clear and multiple Security Council resolutions promising the Kashmiri people their right to self-determination.”
He also criticised India’s attempts to place the Indus Waters Treaty ‘in abeyance’. “Water must never be weaponised; treaties must be honoured,” he said.
On Palestine, the foreign minister said there could be “no durable peace in the Middle East while occupation, collective punishment, forced displacement and illegal expansion of settlements continue”.
He reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for “an independent, viable and contiguous State of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital”.
Mr Dar also called for comprehensive reform of the Security Council, arguing that the current international order could only be strengthened through “consistency, equity and respect for law”.
“Multilateralism cannot mean the management of global affairs by a few,” he said. “It must mean the participation, voice and dignity of all.”
The crisis of the international system, he said, was not caused by the absence of principles but in their selective application. “When powerful states act outside the law, smaller states are left to wonder whether the Charter protects all nations equally,” he added.
Bilateral meetings
Mr Dar also held a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the session with foreign ministers and senior UN officials, including Secretary-General António Guterres.
Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, who was also the host of Tuesday’s meeting, cautioned against glorifying the history of aggression, urging all member states to align their policies with the Charter.
The Security Council’s permanent five members should increase communication and seek “maximum commonality”, he added. “We must strengthen the authority of the Security Council for greater ability to act,” he stressed, calling it “the most authoritative and legitimate body in the multilateral security system”.
Secretary General Guterres stressed the need to settle international disputes by peaceful means and urged all states — large and small — to act in conformity with the international law.
Today, however, “we are witnessing a dangerous erosion of respect for international law,” he said. Geopolitical divisions are deepening, and “too often, this Council fails to act with unity and purpose”. Conflicts are proliferating and intensifying, while an accelerating arms race is taking hold, he added.
Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2026
