Pakistan steps up diplomacy to ease regional tensions

Mettis Global reported that Pakistan's Foreign Office reaffirmed dialogue and diplomacy as its preferred route to calm across the Gulf and the broader Middle East. At the weekly briefing, spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Islamabad was using direct and indirect channels to draw the sides back into negotiations. He added that the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, though not fully implemented, has created a framework for progress.

Pakistan has also widened regional engagement. Bahrain's foreign minister is due in Pakistan soon, following a call on August 11 with Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who welcomed the trip. On August 10, Dar also spoke separately with counterparts from Kuwait, Iran and Saudi Arabia, while Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi held talks in Tehran. Tahir Andrabi called the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement a defensive accord that builds on long-standing ties with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, and rejected claims it was concluded without consultation.

Islamabad denounced an attack on a merchant ship near Bab al-Mandab in the Red Sea, which killed three Pakistanis and wounded a fourth. The Foreign Office is coordinating with Saudi officials and the Yemeni government, and steps are being taken to bring home the bodies and provide medical care to the wounded man. Separately, the spokesperson said three reviews under the ongoing IMF programme have been finished, a process he tied to structural reforms and sounder fiscal management.