Pakistan rejects reports claiming Field Marshal visited Iran as Trump’s envoy

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday rejected claims that Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir visited Iran as an envoy of US President Donald Trump, describing the reports as misleading and factually incorrect.

At his weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan remained engaged with brotherly countries in sincere and concerted efforts to resolve the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and the Gulf, including the standoff between the United States and Iran.

Andrabi said Field Marshal Asim Munir visited Tehran on August 24 as part of Pakistan’s continuing diplomatic efforts to facilitate de-escalation, help break the military stalemate and explore a negotiated settlement to restore regional peace and stability.

“The claims by certain quarters that Field Marshal visited Iran as an envoy of President Trump or the United States are misleading and factually incorrect. His visit was undertaken purely in the context and backdrop of Pakistan’s ongoing role as a mediator,” the spokesperson said.

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He said the visit underscored Islamabad’s sincere and constructive efforts to bridge differences between Washington and Tehran and contribute to regional peace.

The spokesperson said Pakistan remained open to initiating state-level dialogue and institutional coordination with Afghanistan, provided the Afghan Taliban regime took tangible and verifiable counterterrorism measures to ensure that Afghan soil was not used by terrorist groups against Pakistan.

“For any dialogue to take place, the Afghan Taliban must ensure that Afghan soil is not used to perpetrate terrorism against Pakistan. Kabul must honour its international commitments, including those under the Doha framework, and ensure that Afghan soil is not used by hostile proxies, particularly the TTP and BLA, against Pakistan,” Andrabi said.

He added that if the Afghan regime’s actions were being carried out at the behest of a neighbouring country, Pakistan would be constrained to regard the groups involved as proxies. He specifically referred to evidence of Indian involvement in terrorism emanating from Afghan soil.

Responding to a question about reports that countries including Bangladesh had expressed interest in joining the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA), Andrabi described the initiative as an evolving defensive architecture open to countries that share common security commitments and interests.

“Any formal request will be considered in consultation with our partners in Riyadh and Ankara. The operationalisation of MJDA, however, remains at an early stage,” he said.

The spokesperson said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met a group of British parliamentarians of Pakistani origin on August 26.

The meeting covered Pakistan-UK relations, the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts for peace in the Middle East, the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement and recent developments in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, including economic development, youth employment and governance.

Andrabi said Pakistan had lodged a strong diplomatic protest with Indian authorities over the unilateral demolition of consular facilities outside the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

He distinguished the incident from Islamabad’s pre-notified anti-encroachment drive involving diplomatic missions, saying Pakistan had taken its actions through established procedures.