WASHINGTON:
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met his Pakistani counterpart at the State Department in Washington on Friday, as negotiations to end the war with Iran drag on.
The meeting with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, whose country serves as a mediator between the United States and Iran, took place days after Rubio’s visit to India.
The two officials did not speak to the press.
Meanwhile, Rubio acknowledged Pakistan’s “sincere diplomatic and mediation efforts” for peace and stability in the region during the meeting.
According to a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Dar held a bilateral meeting with Secretary Rubio in Washington DC.
“The two leaders expressed satisfaction over the positive dynamics in Pakistani-US bilateral relations and exchanged views on the evolving regional and global situation,” the statement said.
It added that Secretary Rubio recognized Pakistan’s “sincere diplomatic and mediation efforts for peace and stability in the region and beyond.”
The statement said the two sides agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including trade and investment, security and counter-terrorism.
“The two leaders agreed to advance the Pakistan-US partnership, propelled by high-level exchanges and shared interests in regional peace, security and prosperity,” the statement added.
In a detailed statement, Rubio lauded the close engagement and continued coordination between Pakistani leaders and the US administration, while FM Dar expressed confidence that Pakistan’s sincere and continued efforts towards peace and stability would yield positive results.
He also “deeply appreciated the pivotal role” played by President Trump and Secretary Rubio in de-escalating tensions between Pakistan and India last year and averting a broader conflict between the two nuclear-armed states. Dar further expressed Pakistan’s concerns over the use of Afghan territory by terrorist groups against Pakistan and stressed the need for enhanced counter-terrorism cooperation to address security challenges.
Dar said he had a “very good meeting” with Rubio. “It is always a pleasure to engage with him to further strengthen Pakistani-US bilateral relations and advance our shared goals of peace, stability and prosperity for our two countries and the region as a whole.”
Later, in an article on X, Rubio thanked Dar for Pakistan’s role in promoting peace in the Middle East. “We agreed on the importance of working together to further strengthen a meaningful partnership toward greater security and prosperity for our two nations,” Rubio said.
The US State Department said Rubio thanked FM Dar for the “constructive role Pakistan continues to play in realizing President Trump’s vision for peace in the Middle East and in his mediation efforts with Iran.”
The two agreed on the importance of working together to “further strengthen a meaningful partnership that promotes security and prosperity” for Americans and Pakistanis.
The State Department added that Rubio also expressed condolences for the victims of the recent Balochistan Liberation Army terrorist attack in Quetta.
Later, Dar categorically rejected any notion of Pakistan joining the Abraham Accords, reiterating that there would be “no flexibility” in Islamabad’s position on the issue until recognition of an independent Palestinian state.
“There are a lot of rumors regarding the Abraham Accord, let me clarify that Pakistan’s position is very clear and consistent on this. Until Palestine is recognized with the pre-1967 model with Quds Al Sharif as its capital, there will be no flexibility,” Dar said while speaking to the media at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, DC.
The clarification comes days after US President Donald Trump said he had asked several countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, to rejoin the Abraham Accords to normalize relations with Israel.
In a lengthy social media post, Trump listed countries whose leaders he said he had spoken to about efforts to end the war with Iran.
“After all the work the United States has done trying to put this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these countries, at a minimum, sign the Abraham Accords simultaneously,” Trump wrote.
“The countries discussed are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain,” he added.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to expand agreements negotiated during his first term.
The Abraham Accords are U.S.-sponsored agreements that normalized relations between Israel and several majority-Muslim countries during Trump’s first term.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the agreements in 2020, becoming the first Arab states in a quarter of a century to establish ties with Israel. Morocco, Kazakhstan and Sudan then followed suit.
Trump had previously expressed optimism that Saudi Arabia would also rejoin the accords after a ceasefire in Gaza last year, although Riyadh has not yet indicated a willingness to move forward. Egypt and Jordan already maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.
Pakistan has long supported an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Last year, after US special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff suggested that other countries not previously “considered” were preparing to rejoin the accords, Pakistan again ruled out the possibility of recognizing Israel.
“We are not ready to recognize Israel until the two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict is accepted,” Dar said at the time. “There is no change in our stated policy on the Palestinian issue.”
He had also said that signing the Abraham Accords would amount to abandoning Pakistan’s long-standing demand for a Palestinian state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, based on pre-1967 borders.
“Let it be clear to everyone that our seven-decade-old policy remains unchanged,” he said.
(Contributed by News Desk)
