ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday stressed the importance of “uninterrupted energy supplies” and the safe and expeditious passage of ships, particularly given their implications for developing countries and global supply chains.
The deputy prime minister made the remarks during a conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said the Foreign Office (FO).
In a statement posted on X, the Foreign Office said that the two agreed to maintain close cooperation and to meet in New York on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly.
The DPM underscored that dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable means to ensure peace and stability in the region, the spokesperson added.
The development came hours after Pakistan called on Yemen’s Houthis to immediately cease attacks on merchant ships and seafarers in Bab al-Mandab, condemning the group’s attempt to weaponise the waterway.
Speaking at a UNSC Arria-Formula meeting, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, had stressed the need to protect freedom of navigation and the safety of commercial shipping.
This month, Yemen’s Houthis launched a lightning offensive to take over the country’s entire Red Sea coast, giving them control over the vital Bab al-Mandab strait.
The group has declared a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia, targeting Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea as well as sites within the kingdom.
During his address at the UNSC, Ambassador Ahmed had said that the attacks on merchant vessels in the strait and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz had demonstrated that maritime crisis could have far-reaching consequences for global peace, stability, energy security and food security.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the nefarious designs of Houthi militia to weaponise Bab al-Mandab by launching attacks on merchant shipping and innocent seafarers navigating the strait,” the ambassador had added.
He had reiterated Pakistan’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia, saying that the Houthi attacks “seriously undermine maritime security and threaten peace and development of regional countries,”.
The ambassador had maintained that such provocative acts by the Houthis “could have dire consequences for maritime security, and regional peace and stability.”
Addressing the situation in Hormuz Strait, Ambassador Ahmad had said that Pakistan was deeply concerned by disruptions and attacks on commercial shipping.
