Contacts made with Somali government, 10 Pakistanis still held by Somali pirates say
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi speaking at FO’s weekly press briefing. SCREENSHOT
Pakistan reiterated on Thursday that its position on the Abraham Accords remains unchanged, stressing that the country continues to support a free, independent and sovereign Palestinian state.
The clarification came during the weekly press briefing in Islamabad by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, who described the last two weeks as being marked by “very busy diplomatic engagements”, despite the Eid holiday.
He said the period included Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s visits to China, New York and Washington, as well as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kalla Kaja’s visit to Pakistan.
Giving details of the Prime Minister’s visit to China, the spokesperson said it was carried out at the invitation of the Government of the People’s Republic of China from May 23 to 26. During the visit, Shehbaz held meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang.
He added that the Prime Minister also chaired a Pakistan-China B2B investment conference in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, focusing on IT and telecommunications, battery energy storage and agriculture. A detailed joint statement was issued after the visit. DPM/FM Dar accompanied the Prime Minister to China, before going directly from Beijing to New York for his engagements between May 26 and 28.
🔴LIVE: Weekly press briefing by the spokesperson on 04-06-2026 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad
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Andrabi said that in New York, Dar participated in the UN Security Council’s open debate on maintaining international peace and security, focusing on upholding the UN Charter and strengthening the UN-centered international system. He also participated in the Group of Friends on Global Governance, which discussed global governance reforms and the challenges it faces.
On the sidelines, the Deputy Prime Minister held bilateral meetings with several foreign ministers and senior UN officials, including the UN Secretary-General and his counterparts from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Panama and Portugal.
On May 29, Dar met with U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio in Washington, DC. According to the spokesperson, “the two leaders appreciated the positive trajectory of bilateral relations over the past year.” He said they discussed “broad issues of mutual interest” and agreed to strengthen cooperation in the areas of trade, economic relations, cultural cooperation, counter-terrorism and security.
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He added that “the US side recognized Pakistan’s diplomatic and media efforts” and welcomed continued coordination between the two countries.
Andrabi said Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts also continued towards regional stability, including contacts with Egypt, Iran and Kuwait on evolving developments in the Middle East and the Gulf.
He noted that upon his return to Islamabad, Dar had telephone calls with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, the Iranian Foreign Minister and the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister, discussing “evolving regional and national developments.”
He also said the prime minister had several telephone conversations, including a call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on June 4, and earlier calls with the crown prince of Kuwait and the prime minister of Malaysia.
“This was part of our efforts towards peace, security and regional development in general,” the spokesperson said.
Another key development was the visit of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, to Pakistan on June 1, he said. During the visit, the two sides “co-chaired the 8th session of the Pakistan-EU Strategic Dialogue, the highest-level platform for structured discussions between the two sides.”
He added that she also visited President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Force Field Marshal Asim Munir, and that the visit “underscored a sustained momentum of high-level political engagement.”
A joint Pakistan-EU statement was also issued, he noted.
Towards the end of the press briefing, the spokesperson referred to a joint statement by the foreign ministers of eight countries – Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan – strongly condemning Israeli actions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and reaffirming their support for a two-state solution.
Reiterating Pakistan’s position, the Foreign Ministry said there was “no policy change” and that Pakistan continues to support the creation of a “sovereign and independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
During Question Hour, Andrabi said 10 Pakistanis were still being held by Somali pirates and that contacts had been made with the Somali government and efforts were underway to ensure their safe return.
