Pakistan, China call for ceasefire, propose five-point Middle East plan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China on Tuesday reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to further strengthen the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and proposed a five-point initiative to review the situation in the Gulf and Middle East region as Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Ishar Dar meet in Beijing, said the Foreign Office in a statement.

Both sides reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to further strengthening the All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership, according to the Foreign Office statement. According to it, particular emphasis was placed on “advancing high-quality development, deepening economic and strategic cooperation, including under CPEC 2.0,” and enhancing high-level exchanges and collaboration across all domains.

Dar is on an official one-day visit to China at the invitation of his counterpart Wang Yi, where both leaders will review bilateral ties and discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest, said the Foreign Office earlier.

This is Dar’s second trip to Beijing this year and comes shortly after he chaired a quadrilateral meeting with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Egypt to explore ways to end the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

According to the Foreign Office Statement earlier, the Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Yi, and his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, met in Beijing.

The two sides put forward the five-point initiative to review the situation in the Gulf and the Middle East region.

'Immediate Cessation of Hostilities'

Both sides called for immediate cessation of hostilities and utmost efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading. The statement added that the humanitarian assistance must be allowed to all war-affected areas

'Start of peace talks as soon as possible'

China and Pakistan called for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, national independence, and security of Iran and the Gulf states, which should be safeguarded.

“Dialogue and diplomacy is the only viable option to resolve conflicts," the statement added.

The statement reaffirmed support for the involved parties to start talks, with all sides committed to peacefully resolving disputes and avoiding the use or threat of force during negotiations.

'Security of nonmilitary targets'

According to the statement, the principle of protecting civilians in military conflict should be observed.

“China and Pakistan call on parties to the conflict to immediately stop attacks on civilians and nonmilitary targets, fully adhere to International Humanitarian Law (IHL), and stop attacking important infrastructure, including energy, desalination and power facilities, and peaceful nuclear infrastructure, such as nuclear power plants," added the statement.

'Security of shipping lanes'

The statement said that the Strait of Hormuz and its surrounding waters are a crucial global shipping route for goods and energy.

It called on the parties to protect the security of ships and crew members stranded in the Strait of Hormuz while allowing the early and safe passage of civilian and commercial ships and restoring normal passage through the Strait “as soon as possible.”

'Primacy of the United Nations Charter'

It called for efforts to practice “true multilateralism,” to jointly strengthen the primacy of the UN, and to support the conclusion of an agreement to establish a comprehensive peace framework and realize lasting peace based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law.

All-weather strategic cooperative partners

Prior to Dar landing in Beijing, responding to a question regarding the Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar's ongoing visit to China, the China Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning called the bilateral relations between the two “all-weather strategic cooperative partners” that support each other.

“The two countries share similar positions and maintain close communication on major international and regional issues,” she said.

The spokesperson said that she believes that the foreign ministers of the two countries will strengthen strategic communication and coordination on international and regional issues of common concern, such as the situation in Iran.

‘Pakistan ready to host US-Iran talks’

The crisis began late last month following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which were followed by retaliatory actions. The situation has since heightened tensions across the Gulf and affected global energy markets, contributing to rising oil prices and inflation.

Dar said the participating foreign ministers expressed full support for the possibility of US-Iran talks being held in Islamabad and agreed to establish a committee of senior officials to work out the next steps.

He emphasized that dialogue and diplomacy remain the only practical path to avoid further conflict and ensure regional peace.

In recent days, Dar and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have also held several discussions with Iranian leaders, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, while maintaining coordination with the United States.

Dar added that Pakistan welcomes the trust shown by both Iran and the US and would be honored to host and facilitate meaningful talks between the two sides in the near future.

'Diplomacy a gradual process'

Echoing this stance, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, said that diplomacy takes time but remains essential to easing tensions.

“Diplomacy is a gradual process. It takes patience, but we hope to move things forward faster in the interest of the broader region,” he said in an interview with Fox News, expressing optimism about de-escalation efforts.