Pakistan reiterates no shift in stance on Abraham Accords, backs Palestinian state

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday said its position on the Abraham Accords remains unchanged and reaffirmed support for a free, sovereign and independent Palestinian state.

At the weekly press briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the past two weeks had involved very active diplomatic engagements despite the Eid holidays. He outlined recent visits by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, as well as the visit to Pakistan by European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

Andrabi said the prime minister visited China from May 23 to 26 at the invitation of the Chinese government. During the trip, Shehbaz Sharif met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. The premier also chaired a Pakistan-China business-to-business investment conference in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, focused on information technology and telecommunications, battery energy storage, and agriculture. The spokesperson said a detailed joint statement was issued after the visit.

He added that Dar accompanied the prime minister to China and then travelled from Beijing to New York for engagements from May 26 to 28. In New York, the foreign minister took part in the UN Security Council open debate on the maintenance of international peace and security, with discussions centred on upholding the UN Charter and strengthening the UN-centred international system.

According to Andrabi, Dar also attended the Group of Friends on Global Governance, where reforms to global governance and related challenges were discussed. On the sidelines, he held bilateral meetings with the UN secretary-general, senior UN officials, and foreign ministers from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Panama, and Portugal.

The spokesperson said that on May 29, Dar met US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio in Washington.

Andrabi said the two sides discussed issues of mutual interest and agreed to expand cooperation in trade, economic ties, cultural exchanges, counterterrorism, and security. He added that the United States acknowledged Pakistan’s diplomatic and media efforts and praised continued coordination between the two countries.

Regional contacts and EU dialogue

The Foreign Office spokesperson said Pakistan’s diplomatic outreach on regional stability also continued through contacts with Egypt, Iran, and Kuwait in view of developments in the Middle East and the Gulf. After returning to Islamabad, Dar held telephone conversations with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Iran, and Kuwait on what Andrabi described as evolving regional and international developments.

He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also held several calls, including a conversation with Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian on June 4, as well as earlier contacts with the crown prince of Kuwait and the prime minister of Malaysia. Andrabi said these exchanges were part of Pakistan’s efforts for regional peace, security, and broader regional development.

He also highlighted Kallas’s visit to Pakistan on June 1. According to the spokesperson, Pakistan and the European Union co-chaired the 8th session of the Pakistan-EU Strategic Dialogue, the highest-level platform for structured discussions between the two sides.

Andrabi said Kallas also called on President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir. He said the visit reflected continued momentum in high-level political engagement, and noted that a Pakistan-EU joint statement had been issued.

Palestine position and Somali piracy case

Towards the end of the briefing, Andrabi referred to a joint statement by the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Turkiye, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan condemning Israeli actions at Al-Aqsa Mosque and reaffirming support for a two-state solution.

Reiterating Islamabad’s position, the Foreign Office said there was no change in policy and that Pakistan continues to support the establishment of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

During the question-and-answer session, Andrabi said 10 Pakistanis remain in the custody of Somali pirates. He said contact had been established with the Somali government and efforts were under way to secure their safe return.