Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is in Iran for talks on regional security and stability, the Foreign Office said, reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to “offset spoilers” of the US-Iran negotiations (Geo News).
Naqvi held separate meetings with President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other officials. Sources told Geo News he carried a special message from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir to the Iranian president, and briefed him on the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement — a notable errand, given the pact was signed by three of Iran’s neighbours during a war Iran is fighting.
“He is discussing bilateral relations, security, regional security and stability, and constructive engagement amongst the parties in the region and regional developments,” Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi said at the weekly briefing.
Pakistan is making all-out efforts to bring the United States and Iran back to the negotiating table and to the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, Andrabi said, adding that Pakistan would continue to “offset spoilers using direct and indirect channels” and ensure dialogue continues.
The phrase is doing a lot of work without naming anyone. It implies Islamabad believes there are parties actively working to prevent a settlement, and that it is countering them — but the Foreign Office did not say who they are.
Pakistan and Qatar have been the main mediators in a conflict that has killed thousands, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, since the US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28.
The visit comes as the picture darkens. The United States and the Houthis reported separate attacks on shipping on Tuesday, in the Gulf of Oman and at the entrance to the Red Sea, and Tehran has repeated that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed unless Washington accepts its conditions. Three Pakistani nationals were killed in a Houthi attack on a commercial vessel in the Red Sea, which Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar condemned.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif was more optimistic, telling Bloomberg that “things are shaping up again in favour of a peace arrangement or a deal” and that the signals of the past two or three days pointed to “some sort of an arrangement”. Qatar has said talks on managing Hormuz are at an advanced stage.
