Army chief's Iran visit focused on de-escalation, negotiated settlement: Pakistan

Islamabad: Pakistan has said discussions during Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir's recent Iran visit focused on regional de-escalation and exploring a negotiated settlement, amid claims that he had travelled to Tehran as an "envoy" of the United States.

The remarks made by Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi comes days after Munir on Monday held "comprehensive discussions" with Iranian leaders on measures to prevent further escalation of the West Asia conflict and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had accompanied the Army chief to Tehran.


Also read: Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir heads to Tehran as US plans ‘toughest’ Iran sanctions

Addressing the weekly press conference on Thursday, the spokesperson said Munir's Tehran visit was undertaken "purely in the context and backdrop of Pakistan's role as a mediator".

Claims by certain quarters that Munir visited Iran as "envoy of President Donald Trump or the US are misleading and factually incorrect", he said.

Andrabi said the discussions during the visit "focused on regional de-escalation, breaking the military stalemate and exploring a negotiated settlement to restore peace and stability".

He said the visit reflected Pakistan's "sincere and constructive role" in bridging differences between Washington and Tehran, adding that the Iranian leadership appreciated Islamabad's efforts towards de-escalation and a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

"Pakistan remains engaged alongside our brotherly countries in sincere and concerted efforts towards resolving the crisis in the Middle East and Gulf and with respect to the standoff between the US and Iran," Andrabi said.

"Pakistan will continue to actively pursue diplomatic engagement and support all sincere efforts aimed at reviving the peace talks and achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting resolution of the conflict," he said.

Islamabad has been leading the push for peace and reviving its mediation efforts in the stalled US-Iran peace negotiations.

The conflict began when the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, triggering Iranian retaliation and choking the vital Strait of Hormuz and entailing a petroleum price hike.

In April, a ceasefire was announced with an agreement to end the US-Iran conflict. However, the peace process faltered later on and has not been put back on track.

An interim peace agreement, which Pakistan signed as a guarantor, derailed in July as tensions escalated in West Asia with the US and Iran resuming military strikes. Pakistan's efforts to revive the talks have so far failed to yield results.

During their visit to Tehran, Munir and Naqvi held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Representative of the Supreme Leader on the Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei, Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni.

On trade with Iran, Andrabi said Pakistan was following bilateral trade agreements and that trade with Tehran was in accordance with its international obligations and international law.

He said Pakistan opposed unilateral sanctions imposed outside the United Nations framework and hoped economic issues would be addressed as part of a broader settlement of the US-Iran standoff.

During the press conference, Andrabi also rejected remarks made by former Indian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Anil Chauhan regarding an Indian loitering munition striking the Kirana Hills near Sargodha during the May 2025 conflict.

"We categorically reject the retrospective claims made by the former Indian chief of defence staff regarding Kirana Hills... No strategic asset or sensitive infrastructure was compromised in Pakistan (during the 2025 military conflict)," he said.

India conducted Operation Sindoor against nine terror infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) in May 2025, killing over 100 terrorists, to avenge the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

India's strikes during the military conflict hit an airbase in Sargodha, and there were reports that the base was linked to an underground nuclear storage facility in Kirana Hills.

During a talk on 'Operation Sindoor and its Aftermath' in New Delhi on Tuesday, former CDS Chauhan said the Indian forces "did not target" Kirana Hills and that a lot of loitering munitions were sent at Sargodha, and one of those might have come down after losing its running capacity and hit a hill.

On Afghanistan, Andrabi said Pakistan remained open to state-level dialogue with Kabul, but the sustainability of any mechanism would depend on "tangible actions, rather than mere assurances".

He said Kabul must honour its international commitments and ensure that Afghan soil was not used by militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), against Pakistan.

Andrabi also said Pakistan would assume the chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for a one-year term following the SCO Council of Heads of State summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, beginning Monday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the summit, he said, adding that the SCO summit would be held in Islamabad next year.