Pakistan has reiterated its firm opposition to any foreign interference in Iran, describing the neighbouring country’s internal situation as an entirely domestic matter, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Thursday.
According to the report, at the weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andarabi said Islamabad had been consistent in rejecting external involvement in Iran, recalling that Pakistan had opposed the 12-day aggression against Tehran last year.
Addressing questions on reports of a possible JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft deal with Saudi Arabia, the spokesperson noted that Pakistan and the Kingdom maintain broad defence ties.
However, Pakistan's spokesperson said he had no information about any such agreement, adding that details would be shared when appropriate.
Andarabi also reaffirmed Pakistan’s longstanding stance on the “illegal” status of Somaliland, asserting that Islamabad has opposed the entity at various international forums. He characterised the move as an attempt to divide the brotherly nation of Somalia.
Commenting on Pakistan’s relationship with Afghanistan, the spokesperson said Islamabad does not wish to be hostile towards Kabul. However, he reiterated Pakistan’s longstanding demand that Afghan territory must not be used for launching terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.
The spokesperson further said Pakistan had agreed to continue the trilateral mechanism with Afghanistan in China.
He welcomed Kabul’s recent statements but stressed that Pakistan still seeks written, verifiable and concrete guarantees, along with implementation, that Afghan soil will not be used against other countries. Such assurances, he said, would ultimately benefit Afghanistan itself.
Commenting on developments in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Andarabi noted that Pakistan observed the Right to Self-Determination Day on 5 January.
FO Spokesperson Andarabi accused India of attempting to silence Kashmiri leadership and recalled the “dark measures” New Delhi took on 5 August 2019.
The spokesperson has accused India of once again attempting to divert global attention from New Delhi’s “deeply troubling record” as a regional actor responsible for promoting terrorism and fuelling instability. Andrabi said India had instigated terrorism across the region and consistently undermined peace among its neighbours.
Andrabi described the Indian minister's remarks as a “blatant attempt” to distract from recently surfaced documentary evidence suggesting that New Delhi sought the intervention of a third country to secure a ceasefire with Pakistan during the May conflict.
He said no amount of “bluster” could conceal India’s “fabricated narrative” on counterterrorism, including its claims surrounding the Pahalgam incident and what he termed India’s “reckless misadventure” against Pakistan.
The spokesperson alleged that India had engaged in extrajudicial killings abroad, interfered in the internal political affairs of neighbouring nations, exported terrorism into Pakistan and offered safe havens to wanted criminals. He said New Delhi had long acted as a force of coercion rather than cooperation for smaller states in South Asia.
Asked about the demolition of structures near the Faiz-e-Elahi Mosque in Delhi, Andrabi said the drive was not an isolated act but part of a “systematic and deliberate campaign” by the RSS-BJP nexus to erase Muslim heritage across India.
He warned that several other historic mosques were facing similar threats of desecration or destruction, adding that Indian Muslims continue to suffer “grave social, economic and political marginalisation.”
He urged the international community to take serious notice of an alarming rise in Islamophobia in India. The United Nations and other global mechanisms, he said, must play a proactive role in safeguarding the religious and cultural rights of India’s minority communities.
Andrabi also called on New Delhi to meet its constitutional and international human rights obligations by ensuring the safety and security of all religious denominations, including Muslims.
The FO spokesperson confirmed that Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar visited China, where he participated in the Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue, and a joint statement was issued at the conclusion of the talks.
Reporter Anwer Abbas