Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar Set To Meet US Secretary Of State Marco Rubio On Friday

<p>Islamabad, Jul 24 (PTI) Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday to discuss bilateral ties, as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest, the Foreign Office said on Thursday.</p>
<p>Replying to a question about Dar’s meeting in Washington, Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan, during his weekly press briefing here, said that among other issues, Pakistan-India relations would also come up for discussion.</p>
<p>”I can confirm that the meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, and the entire range of issues on the bilateral agenda, as well as important regional and global issues, including the situation in the Middle East and Iran, will be discussed,” he said.</p>
<p>”Exchange of views will also take place on the Pakistan-India question, for which we remain grateful for the role played by the US in de-escalation of tensions leading to ceasefire,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>The spokesperson also said it was Pakistan&rsquo;s consistent position that the issues with India have to be resolved through diplomacy and peaceful means, and &ldquo;we remain committed to it&rdquo;.</p>
<p>&ldquo;But again, it is for India to decide the route it wants to take, the policy it wants to adopt. Diplomatic engagement is not a favour extended by one country to another, it is in the common interest of both countries and of regional stability and global peace,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>India launched <a title=”Operation Sindoor” href=”https://news.abplive.com/topic/operation-sindoor” data-type=”interlinkingkeywords”>Operation Sindoor</a> on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10.</p>
<p>India has made it clear that it will only have a dialogue with Pakistan on the return of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the issue of terrorism.</p>
<p>To a question, Khan said Pakistan was serious about pursuing its membership of BRICS, and &ldquo;we will persist with our efforts to become its full member&rdquo;.</p>
<p><strong><em>(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)</em></strong></p>