Middle East: Pakistan calls for restraint, moving towards de-escalation

Celina Ali

Islamabad: Pakistan is watching with deep concern the ongoing developments in Middle East, said the Foreign Office in a statement issued on Sunday, just hours after Iran carried out a retaliatory attack on Israel in which it used hundreds of missiles and drones.

The Foreign Office said Pakistan had for months “underlined the necessity of international efforts to prevent expansion of hostilities in the region and for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“On 2 April 2024, Pakistan had pointed to the dangers of the attack on an Iranian consular office in Syria as major escalation in an already volatile region,” the statement recalled.

At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also regretted that the international community and diplomatic channels failed to address the challenge, terming it as a “breakdown of diplomacy” and the UN Security Council’s failure.

“Today’s developments demonstrate the consequences of the breakdown of diplomacy. “These also underline the grave implications in cases where the UN Security Council is unable to fulfil its responsibilities of maintaining peace and security.”

About the way forward, the Foreign Office stressed the need for taking measures for de-escalation.

“It is now critically urgent to stabilise the situation and restore peace. We call on all parties to exercise utmost restraint and move towards de-escalation,” the statement read.