Pakistan’s Ishaq Dar Meets Iranian, Uzbek Foreign Ministers on SCO Summit Sidelines
BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN — WEB DESK: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar held separate meetings with his Iranian and Uzbek counterparts in Bishkek on Tuesday, using the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit to discuss regional developments, diplomacy and stronger bilateral relations.
Dar met Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi ahead of the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting, where the two diplomats exchanged views on Pakistan-Iran relations and regional developments and reaffirmed the importance of continued engagement.
During the meeting, Dar stressed that dialogue and diplomacy remained essential to promoting peace and stability in the region.
Dar Urges Implementation of Islamabad MoU
The most significant element of the Dar-Araghchi meeting concerned the continuing conflict involving Iran and the United States.
Dar said the “sincere implementation” by both parties of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding reached in June 2026 remained the only way forward, according to Pakistan’s state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.
Radio Pakistan separately reported the same position, saying Dar stressed both dialogue and implementation of the Islamabad understanding as the path toward regional peace and stability.
The statement represents Pakistan’s diplomatic position on resolving the conflict. It should not be interpreted as confirmation that Washington and Tehran currently agree on the implementation or interpretation of every provision of the June understanding.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian separately said in Bishkek that Tehran was prepared to respond if the United States returned to its commitments under the interim arrangement, underscoring continuing differences between the two sides over implementation.
Pakistan, Iran Discuss Bilateral Relations
Beyond the US-Iran conflict, Dar and Araghchi discussed bilateral ties and wider regional developments.
Pakistan’s official account described the encounter as a “warm exchange” and said both foreign ministers reaffirmed the importance of continued engagement.
The meeting comes at a sensitive moment for the wider Middle East, with renewed military tensions adding urgency to diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing further escalation.
Pakistan has repeatedly presented dialogue rather than military escalation as its preferred approach to the crisis.
Dar’s remarks in Bishkek are consistent with that position, although describing the Islamabad MoU as the “only way forward” remains Pakistan’s assessment, rather than an independently established diplomatic consensus.
Dar Holds Separate Talks With Uzbek Foreign Minister
Dar separately met Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov on the sidelines of the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting.
The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to what they described as the close and growing partnership between Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
They also discussed ways to strengthen cooperation across areas of mutual interest, according to the accounts of the meeting.
The available statement did not announce a new treaty, investment package or specific bilateral agreement arising from Tuesday’s Dar-Saidov meeting.
The development is therefore best characterised as a high-level diplomatic consultation aimed at strengthening existing cooperation, rather than the signing of a new bilateral accord.
SCO Summit Provides Platform for Bilateral Diplomacy
The meetings took place as regional leaders and senior officials gathered in Bishkek for the SCO Council of Heads of State summit.
Pakistan has used the gathering for a series of bilateral diplomatic contacts in addition to its participation in the multilateral summit.
Dar also met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, with the two sides reaffirming the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership and discussing issues including the 2026 UN General Assembly and the process for selecting the next United Nations secretary-general.
He also interacted with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin on the margins of the SCO gathering.
These contacts illustrate the wider diplomatic activity surrounding the Bishkek summit, where participating states are discussing bilateral relations alongside regional security, economic and political issues.
Pakistan Set for Expanded SCO Role
The Bishkek summit is particularly significant for Islamabad because Pakistan is assuming the 2026-27 chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State.
That role should be distinguished from describing Pakistan as holding a general “SCO presidency.” The organisation has multiple councils and mechanisms, while Pakistan’s incoming rotational responsibility specifically concerns the Council of Heads of State.
Islamabad is expected to host the next meeting of the Council of Heads of State in 2027 as part of that chairmanship.
Against that backdrop, Dar’s meetings with Iran and Uzbekistan provide an early indication of Pakistan’s emphasis on bilateral engagement and regional diplomacy as it takes on the expanded SCO role.
For the Iran meeting in particular, Islamabad used the summit to reiterate its view that implementation of the June 2026 Islamabad MoU and continued diplomacy offer the preferred path away from further confrontation.
