October 23, 2026
Dar to Attend First R4E3 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Istanbul
The deputy prime minister travels to Istanbul for the inaugural meeting of a grouping bringing Muslim-majority states together with European counterparts.
Articles for tag: diplomacy, European Union, foreign policy, Ishaq Dar, istanbul, Turkiye
September 10, 2026
Islamabad Sends Rare Public Greeting to Pyongyang
President Zardari wrote to Kim Jong Un and the Foreign Office posted public felicitations on North Korea's 78th founding anniversary, an unusually visible gesture toward a state Pakistan sanctions.
August 26, 2026
Pakistan Rejects Afghan Taliban Claim It Is Involved in Badakhshan Violence
The information ministry has categorically rejected Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid's assertion that Pakistani authorities are physically involved in the violence in Badakhshan, saying no credible evidence has been produced.
August 23, 2026
Ishaq Dar UK Visit to Raise Pakistani Crew Held by Somali Pirates
The deputy prime minister visits the UK from August 24 to 28, meeting Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and the IMO secretary-general, where he will raise the case of 10 Pakistani crew held aboard the MT Honour 25 since April.
August 16, 2026
WOW
For nine days the world explained that the Makkah pact was three American allies quietly hedging against an unreliable America. Then the American president posted a compliment. Aflatoon on what happens when the subject of your analysis reads it and says thank you.
August 12, 2026
The Crew List
Three Pakistanis were killed on a ship in the Red Sea this week. We know the number. We do not know the names, the vessel, or the ports they came from. Aflatoon on the men who leave, and the arithmetic that counts them only once.
August 10, 2026
Dar Says the Makkah Accord Is Open to Any Country Upholding Its Principles
Ishaq Dar says the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement is defensive, is not directed against any country, and neither abrogates nor replaces existing bilateral or multilateral agreements involving the three signatories.
August 7, 2026
The Pact Nobody Has Read
Pakistan is reportedly signing a trilateral defence agreement in Jeddah today. We know this because two anonymous sources told a French news agency. Aflatoon on learning your own country's military obligations from foreign wire copy.
July 23, 2026
Both Sides
This week Pakistan called Saudi Arabia to condemn Houthi attacks on Saudi oil tankers, vowed force to protect Saudi maritime interests, and simultaneously received Iran's Interior Minister with a personal message from President Pezeshkian calling Pakistan a "second home for all Iranians." Both happened. Both are true. Pakistan has become the world's most practiced diplomat of the impossible middle position.
July 13, 2026
PM Shehbaz to Fly to Qatar Monday to Offer Condolences and Meet Emir Tamim After Father Emir’s Death
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Doha on Monday to personally offer condolences on the death of former Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and hold a bilateral meeting with current Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The visit comes as Doha is the expected venue for the next round of high-level US-Iran negotiations, making Monday's bilateral meeting diplomatically significant beyond the condolence call.
