DOHA: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Monday that 'winning peace is far more important than winning a war' as he addressed the 8th Global Security Forum in the Qatari capital, The Express Tribune and Geo News reported.
Key points
- Pakistan and Qatar have acted as mediators in US-Iran tensions
- Naqvi credited Field Marshal Asim Munir's personal efforts with opening doors for dialogue
- He called the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement 'a pact for defence and not for war'
'The aim was never credit'
Naqvi said the aim of Pakistan and Qatar was never to take credit but to stop further conflict and save innocent lives. At a critical time, he said, Pakistan chose the path of peace and did everything possible to reduce tensions.
He said he had personally joined Field Marshal Munir on visits to Tehran and meetings with senior Iranian officials and saw how difficult the talks were. 'There were moments when the situation was extremely tense, but we never gave up,' he said, adding that peace is not achieved in a single meeting.
The mediation track
According to The Express Tribune, the minister recalled that Pakistan hosted the Islamabad talks in April and that in June Pakistan and Qatar signed the Islamabad MoU as mediating parties. He listed three lessons: never close the door to dialogue, trust is the key to any talks, and no single country can secure regional peace alone.
The Makkah pact
Naqvi described the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye as a recent example of Pakistan's commitment to regional security, stressing that it is a pact for defence, not for war.
Where things stand
Geo News said the remarks come as efforts to revive US-Iran dialogue remain stalled and Houthi rebels in Yemen continue to target Saudi Arabia.
More on The Express Tribune and Geo News.