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DPM and FM Ishaq Dar addressing the UNSC session on Palestine in New York. PHOTO: MOFA
ISLAMABAD:
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said Islamabad was fully prepared to navigate a rapidly transforming international order, while reaffirming its positions on Jammu and Kashmir, Gaza and regional security.
Addressing the inaugural session of the Pakistan Governance Forum 2026, Dar said the global system established after the Second World War was “in flux”, with norms, institutions and alliances undergoing rapid change.
“The emerging trends are multi-polarity, mini-lateralism and mounting geopolitical contestation,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s foreign policy was equipped to respond to the new realities.
He said Pakistan’s foremost priority remained the security of its people and the protection of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He said Pakistan had also reinvigorated ties with the United States, expanding cooperation beyond traditional security to trade, technology and investment.
He referred to recent engagements involving PM Shehbaz Sharif and senior US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Dar said Pakistan had strengthened partnerships across South Asia, including what he described as a substantive renewal of ties with Bangladesh after a 12-year hiatus in high-level exchanges.
A trilateral mechanism involving China, Pakistan and Bangladesh had also been launched to promote regional cooperation, he added.
In the Middle East, he cited a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed with Saudi Arabia in September last year, alongside expanded economic cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and other Gulf states.
Dar said Pakistan’s election as a non-permanent member of the UNSC for the 2025-26 term, with what he described as an overwhelming majority.
