Pakistan and Qatar have agreed to expand their security partnership and strengthen cooperation in internal security, the Ministry of Interior said on Tuesday.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, in Doha, where the two held a detailed exchange of views on cooperation between their interior ministries, Dawn reported. The meeting was also attended by the commander of Qatar’s Internal Security Force, known as Lekhwiya, according to The Express Tribune.
They also discussed the regional situation and matters of peace and stability.
“The meeting reaffirmed the commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two interior ministries,” the ministry’s statement said, adding that a decision was made to strengthen mutual cooperation and partnership in internal security.
“Pakistan and Qatar are working together for regional peace and stability,” Naqvi said. The Qatari minister said his country attached great importance to its relations with Pakistan.
The two ministers last met in Doha on July 28, when they discussed security cooperation and ways to strengthen ties in the security sector.
“Qatar chose to keep talking”
The meeting came a day after Naqvi addressed the eighth Global Security Forum in Doha, where he praised Qatar’s role in efforts to ease tensions between Iran and the United States.
He recalled the Lake Lucerne Summit in Switzerland, organised by Pakistan and Qatar to facilitate US-Iran talks, where Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir worked for more than 16 hours to keep the negotiations on track.
“In the diplomacy of our time, when others chose sides, Qatar chose to keep talking. Pakistan has seen this closely because we have worked beside you,” Naqvi said.
“The aim of both countries, Pakistan and Qatar, was never to take credit; the only aim was to stop further conflict and to save innocent lives,” he said. “We do not want credit for stopping wars. We want a future where wars do not start.”
Peace takes patience
Naqvi said Pakistan had made every possible effort to bring Washington and Tehran to the negotiating table, and that Islamabad did not give up even when tensions escalated sharply, Geo News reported.
“Peace cannot be achieved in a single meeting. It requires patience, trust and continuous efforts,” he said.
He also called for stronger international cooperation, intelligence-sharing and joint efforts against terrorism, which he described as a common enemy.
The regional backdrop
The talks come amid mounting tensions in the region:
- US-Iran talks: efforts to revive the dialogue remain stalled; Iran says its offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days still stands, depending on Washington’s response
- Yemen: government forces are fighting the Houthis, who are also targeting Saudi Arabia
- Pakistan’s role: Field Marshal Munir is due in Tehran on Tuesday for talks on Pakistan’s mediation, according to Reuters and Iranian media
Why it matters
Qatar and Pakistan have emerged as two of the main go-betweens in the US-Iran conflict. Closer security ties with Doha strengthen a partnership that has already helped keep the region’s most dangerous crisis from widening. Read our reports on Field Marshal Munir’s visit to Tehran and on Dar’s call with Iran’s foreign minister.
This article draws on reporting by Dawn, Geo News and The Express Tribune.
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