Pakistan has rejected the reports claiming that Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir recently visited Iran as US President Donald Trump’s envoy.
CDF Munir visited Tehran on August 24 as part of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to help resolve the ongoing US-Iran standoff.
Pakistan and Iran held discussions on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and bringing an “expedited termination” of the US-Iran conflict in the Middle East, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Tuesday.
During the visit, Field Marshal Munir called on Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iranian supreme leader’s representative on the Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei, Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni.
The two sides also exchanged views on regional peace and the ways to arrive at a negotiated settlement to the disputes, it added.
Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator between Tehran and Washington in efforts to end the conflict that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
Islamabad brokered a two-week ceasefire between the two sides on April 8, bringing six weeks of fighting to a temporary halt, and has since continued to relay messages between Washington and Tehran.
Addressing a weekly press briefing today, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi termed the reports “misleading and factually incorrect”, stating that the CDF’s Iran visit was undertaken “purely in the context and backdrop of Pakistan’s ongoing role as mediator”.
The spokesperson said CDF Munir visited Tehran on August 24 as part of Pakistan’s continuing diplomatic efforts to facilitate an end to the US-Iran conflict and renewed efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“The discussion during the visit focused on regional de-escalation, breaking the military stalemate and exploring a negotiated settlement to restore regional peace and stability,” he added.
Andrabi said Pakistan remained engaged alongside its brotherly countries in sincere concerted efforts towards resolving the crisis in the Middle East and the Gulf and “with respect to the standoff between the US and Iran”.
“The visit underscored Islamabad’s sincere and constructive role in bridging differences between Washington and Tehran,” he said, adding that the Iranian leadership also appreciated Pakistan’s efforts towards de-escalation and regional peace.
‘Pakistan ready for state-level talks’
While responding to a question about the Afghan interim government interior minister’s proposal for a bilateral mechanism to address issues, the Foreign Office spokesperson said that Pakistan was ready to engage Afghanistan in a state-level dialogue to address bilateral issues.
However, the FO spokesperson said any such process will depend on Kabul taking concrete and verifiable measures to prevent its territory from being used for terrorism against Pakistan.
“Pakistan notes the proposal by the interim Afghan government’s interior minister for a bilateral mechanism to address issues. For any dialogue to take place, the Afghan side must ensure that its soil is not used against Pakistan,” the spokesperson said.
Andrabi further said that Pakistan wanted effective border management and verifiable counterterrorism measures from Afghanistan.
“Pakistan is ready for institutional engagement with Afghanistan, provided that it results in verifiable counterterrorism measures,” the spokesperson said.
The Foreign Office also called on the Afghan interim government to fulfil its international obligations, including those under the Doha framework.
He further said Afghanistan must prevent India-backed banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) from using its territory.
“Afghan soil must be prevented from being used by anti-Pakistan elements, including the TTP and BLA,” the spokesperson said.
