Pakistan hopes Strait of Hormuz deal will revive US-Iran talks

Pakistan said a Strait of Hormuz agreement could restart US-Iran technical talks under the Islamabad MoU. It also rejected India's criticism of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir polls, underscoring parallel regional tensions.

In Short

• Islamabad reaffirmed support for sincere diplomatic initiatives to ease West Asia tensions
• Pakistan praised Oman's steady de-escalation role as a key littoral state
• India called the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir election a farce amid unrest

Pakistan on Thursday said it hoped an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz would help restart technical-level talks between the US and Iran under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, while reaffirming support for diplomatic efforts to resolve the West Asia crisis.

At the same weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi also rejected India's remarks on the legislative elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, after New Delhi described the exercise as a "farce" and referred to protests and killings in the region.

Andrabi said Pakistan remained engaged in diplomatic efforts and supported all sincere initiatives aimed at achieving a "comprehensive, just and lasting resolution" to the conflict. "We hope that an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz will lead to the resumption of talks between the US and Iran under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)," he said.

His remarks came a day after Iran said it was in the final stage of reaching an agreement with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump has also said that a deal to reopen the Strait is close. Andrabi said he hoped an agreement on the Strait would pave the way for continued dialogue, particularly the resumption of technical-level talks between Tehran and Washington.

He also praised Oman for its "valuable and steadfast efforts towards de-escalation", particularly in its role as a "littoral state" to the State of Hormuz.

On Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Andrabi rejected India's comments after the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday criticised Pakistan's crackdown on protesters there and said the world should see through the "flimsy veneer" of Islamabad's lecturing on human rights. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said in New Delhi: "This so-called local election in PoK is a complete farce. The real happening is that of public protests and wanton killings by Pakistani forces. Such hollow exercises cannot hide reality."

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir has been seeing large protests since last month over rising living costs, alleged administrative apathy, political discrimination and atrocities against minorities. According to the Joint Awami Action Committee, more than 40 people were killed during the first phase of polling on July 27, and around 400 people have died in protests since early June. The Pakistan government has rejected these allegations as exaggerated.

The second phase of polling was held on August 2, while the final phase is scheduled for August 10. Provisional results show the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz as the largest party after the first two phases. India maintains that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of it, and says Pakistan is in "illegal and forcible occupation" of parts of these Union Territories. Overall, Pakistan used the briefing to back diplomacy on the Strait of Hormuz and to push back against India's criticism of the elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

With PTI Inputs

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