ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Calling for stronger diplomacy, dialogue and multilateral cooperation to address growing global tensions, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar here on Tuesday stressed that Pakistan would continue to work for regional peace, while safeguarding its sovereignty and national interests.
Addressing the Margalla Dialogue 2026, organised by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), he highlighted that the shape of the emerging world order remains uncertain. “The choices countries make during this transition will help determine whether it produces greater cooperation or deeper confrontation,” he said.
“The international security architecture faces mounting pressure. Intensifying great power rivalries, protracted conflicts and erosion of arms control agreements are increasing the risks of confrontation and miscalculation,” he noted, addressing the theme of this year’s dialogue, ‘Global Order in Transition: Navigating Strategic Uncertainty’.
Posing the question “how can we safeguard our security and build a more prosperous future for our people?”, Mr Dar maintained that the answer lies in “strength at home and effective diplomacy abroad”.
He noted that the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, was a defensive arrangement aimed at strengthening collective security and credible deterrence, rather than targeting any particular country.
Discussing Pakistan’s international partnerships, he described relations with China as a cornerstone of the country’s foreign policy, while highlighting constructive engagement with the United States and expanding cooperation with Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Iran, Gulf countries, Europe and Central Asia.
He reiterated that Pakistan sought peace but would firmly defend its sovereignty, stressing that a just settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions was essential for lasting peace in the region.
He also warned against Indian attempts to weaponise water, adding that Pakistan would safeguard its rights under the Indus Waters Treaty.
Mr Dar also classified terrorism emanating from Afghan territory as a serious security challenge, adding that Pakistan would continue protecting its people while supporting a peaceful, stable and economically integrated Afghanistan.
With regard to the Middle East, the foreign minister said Pakistan’s facilitation of the Islamabad talks between the United States and Iran in April had reflected its commitment to resolving conflicts through dialogue.
Other panel discussions at the event also featured noted national and international speakers. In his keynote address during a discussion on ‘Geopolitics and the Realignment of Global Power’, Prof John J. Mearsheimer, from the University of Chicago, spoke at length about the losses incurred by the US and Israel in the war against Iran, as well as the policy failures of the Trump administration.
“Trump just dismissed the views of his principal advisers and he decided instead he would listen to Netanyahu and the head of Mossad,” he said, adding that the two men convinced the US president that attacking Iran was a good idea.
“The decision to get into this war was an irrational decision… The US is in a war that it is going to lose, there is no way the US can defeat Iran,” he said.
He categorically said that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza as a means to driving Palestinians from their own territory. “That is why they are treating the Palestinians in Gaza today in the most horrendous ways… and launching pogroms against Palestinians in the (occupied) West Bank,” he said, adding that despite their brutal methods, they had failed to achieve their objective of driving the Palestinians out.
He was quite clear that Israel could not have committed this genocide without US assistance, adding that Washington was complicit in this crime, providing diplomatic support to Israel and vetoing six UN Security Council resolutions designed to shut down the genocide.
Talking about the contours of great power politics, he said that the world has shifted from a unipolar world into a multipolar world. “There are now three great powers in the world: the US, China and Russia,” he said, adding that the dynamics of a unipolar world were very different from the dynamics of a multipolar world.
Noting that nothing is going to change in the relationship between Pakistan and India, Prof Mearsheimer said that India could not become a great power in the near future, as it is plagued by too many issues, though it could become a formidable middle power, like Japan. Pakistan, he said, needed to strive for wealth creation to become a middle power like Germany and Japan.
Pakistan, he said, was in an ideal position in the multipolar world, as it has cordial ties with both the US and China, and hasn’t had to choose between the two.
As long as the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East persist, the US will continue to pivot away from East Asia, he said, noting how nice Trump is to Xi Jinping because he doesn’t want to antagonise Beijing.
Noted Middle East scholar Dr Vali Nasr lauded the resilience and tactics of Iran that had led to a failure of US and Israeli policies.
However, he maintained that Israel had an expansionist agenda and the war between Israel and Iran was still unfinished, adding that a military alliance between India, UAE and Israel could pose a threat to Pakistan.
He added that US involvement in Iran and Ukraine had led to softening its military presence against China in the Far East, and soon allies like Japan and South Korea too will start reconsidering their age-old reliance on the US for security.
The actions and statements of President Trump have prompted demands from Iran to quit the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, he said. Former US diplomat Robin Raphel noted that if Iran leaves the NPT, it could trigger exits by other countries too.
Former senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said that there was a time when decisions were made in Washington regarding other countries. “But now regime change in US is due to Iran,” he mused, recalling the recent midterm elections.
