• ‘Why not’, says Dar when asked about possibility of combined security force in Middle East
• PM meets Qatari emir, Iranian president on sidelines of Doha summit
KARACHI: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar hinted at the possibility of joining a proposed unified front against Israel, if such a move came to fruition.
Pakistan has “very large” and “effective” armed forces that have proven their capabilities in conventional warfare, Mr Dar, who also holds the foreign affairs portfolio, said during an interview with Al Jazeera.
He was responding to a question about the possible position Islamabad would take in case a united body was formed in the Middle East to stop Israeli aggression.
When asked if the formation of such a body — away from the United Nations structure — to intervene in Gaza was one of the options on the table, Mr Dar said that a mechanism could be chalked out.
He mentioned that there had been talk along the lines of “some sort of combined security force” during recent interactions among Arab nations and the Arab League.
“Why not? What’s wrong with that? They should [have a combined force]. And according to their own capacity, own strength, they should create some mechanism. Not for aggression purpose [sic], but for peaceful purpose[s], for stopping the aggressor, for stopping the occupier, for stopping someone who just doesn’t listen.”
When asked where nuclear-armed Pakistan would stand, Mr Dar responded: “Pakistan, obviously, as a member of the ummah, would discharge its duty.”
When pressed to elaborate, he clarified that Pakistan saw nuclear weapons only for deterrence and didn’t intend to use them. “We have no intention of using it; it is only a deterrence.”
“But Pakistan has a very large, known, very effective army, very effective air force, very effective navy … We have proved that we can beat [our opponent] even conventionally, if challenged,” he maintained.
The interviewer then brought up a recent debate[1] at the UN Security Council where Israel had invoked a 2011 attack within Pakistan to kill Osama Bin Laden in a bid to justify its attacks in Gaza.
“So if now Pakistan comes under attack, from a country like the United States, for instance, would Pakistan act differently [than it did in 2011]?” he asked.
“We would not allow the breach of our territorial integrity, no matter by whom, be it the smallest or the largest country. We would respond. But I don’t see any reason why the US or any other country would do it. India did it. You saw what happened to them,” replied Dar.
Need for UN reform
Mr Dar highlighted that Israel had attacked multiple countries in the Middle East and said that international laws, international humanitarian rules and UN Security Council resolutions seemed to have “no effect on one country, which is repeatedly doing what it feels like”.
“That means [the] multilateral system needs very serious reforms right now … This is the need of the hour. I think the UN Security Council, as well as the UN system itself needs very serious reforms.
To a question about whether Israel could attack Pakistan next after Qatar, Dar reminded that India had tried that and Israel “gave it full support according to our information” and the “world saw that the claim is exposed”.
“We are ready. Again, I repeat, we want peace. The nuclear-armed state does not want any de-stabilisation in the region because that will have consequences beyond [the region],” he added, stressing the need for collective efforts for reforms in UN Security Council resolutions.
Saying that Israel and India were the only countries that did not abide by UN Security Council resolutions, he emphasised evolving a mechanism in the council for taking practical measures to “control the situation” if its resolutions were not acted upon and implemented.
“And that might require physical actions, physical interventions,” he mused.
PM’s meetings
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held separate meetings with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the Emergency Arab–Islamic Summit convened[2] in Doha.
In his meeting with Qatari emir, the prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s strongest condemnation of the Israeli strike[3] on a residential area in Doha on September 9 that led to the loss of precious lives and injured several others, says a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.
While reaffirming Pakistan’s all-out support and solidarity with Qatar at this critical time, PM Shehbaz termed Israel’s attack a flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as a serious breach of international law.
The Qatari emir expressed appreciation for the prime minister’s participation in the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit as well as for his visit to Doha on September 12 to express solidarity with Qatar at this difficult time.
During a meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, PM Shehbaz reiterated Pakistan’s strongest condemnation of Israeli aggression against Qatar on Sept 9.
Both leaders expressed their solidarity and support for Qatar and called for unity among the ranks of the Ummah in the face of Israeli aggression.
President Pezeshkian appreciated Pakistan’s strong position on the Palestine issue and expressed his desire to continue working closely with the prime minister to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran relations.
Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2025