Pakistan's foreign policy rests on taking steps to de-escalate regional tensions to ensure that the country will not be dragged into any external wars, amid rising tensions in the Middle East, while Islamabad is also developing its first long-term, coherent national security policy to meet domestic and regional challenges, senior government adviser Moeed Yusuf said
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2020) Pakistan's foreign policy rests on taking steps to de-escalate regional tensions to ensure that the country will not be dragged into any external wars, amid rising tensions in the middle East, while Islamabad is also developing its first long-term, coherent national security policy to meet domestic and regional challenges, senior government adviser Moeed Yusuf said.
Yusuf, who serves as special assistant to the prime minister on national security division and strategic policy planning, made the comments during an appearance at the ThinkFest 2020 conference in the city of Lahore on Sunday, according to Pakistani media outlet The news.� �
"At the moment, Pakistan's engagements in the region aim to convince the rival countries to de-escalate," Yusuf is quoted as saying by the media outlet, while citing Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's current trip to visit Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
He also outlined that Islamabad took the issue of de-escalating regional tensions seriously.
"We are not doing it for optics, but in the national interest," Yusuf remarked, as quoted by the media outlet.
The government adviser also stated that for the first time in the country's history, Pakistan was developing its first comprehensive, long-term national security policy that will integrate, among other pressing issues, foreign policy, internal security and education.
Earlier on Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani met with Foreign Minister Qureshi in Tehran, with the Pakistani official stating that Islamabad was committed to peace and stability in Iran and the region.
