Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar to visit UK from August 24-28: FO

Islamabad: Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will undertake a five-day official visit to the United Kingdom on Monday where he will hold meetings with British officials, the Foreign Office said on Sunday.

He would also meet the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to discuss Pakistani crew members held by Somali pirates aboard the MT Honour 25 oil tanker, the FO said in a statement.

It added that the trip by the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister is scheduled from August 24-28.


Dar will meet UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office minister of state for Pakistan, Stephen Doughty, as well as other senior UK government officials.

FO said the meeting with the IMO secretary-general would focus on "the issue of Pakistani crew members held by Somali pirates aboard the MT Honour 25 oil tanker".

Ten Pakistani sailors, who have been held hostage since April, are among the crew of the MT Honour 25, a Palau-flagged oil tanker that was hijacked by armed pirates off the coast of Puntland, Somalia.

Dar will also meet Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey.

The foreign ministry said the deputy prime minister would also "engage with British parliamentarians and representatives of the British-Pakistani community".

The visit assumes significance against the backdrop of Pakistan's increasingly visible diplomatic role in regional and international affairs, especially Islamabad's role to stop the US and Iran war.

The trilateral Makkah defence deal has also increased Pakistan's significance as Turkiye is also part of the NATO, which stretches the implication of the deal behind the West Asia.

Since the agreement declares attack on any three countries as attack on all, Pakistan will be bound to support Turkiye in case of any attack along with NATO nations.