DID Press: Faisal Niaz Tirmizi has warned that any ground military operation against Iran would be “extremely catastrophic,” stressing that the crisis cannot be resolved through military means.
In remarks to TASS, the Pakistani envoy said Iran, with a population of around 93 million and a territory spanning nearly 1.6 million square kilometers, is not a country that can be defeated through airstrikes alone.
Tirmizi said Pakistan had previously warned the United States after 2001 that the war in Afghanistan would not end according to Washington’s expectations. He added that Islamabad had also issued similar warnings to Gulf countries regarding the war in Yemen, arguing that later developments proved those assessments correct.
The ambassador further revealed that Pakistan is currently facilitating indirect communication between Tehran and Washington and said there is a strong possibility that future negotiations between the two sides could be hosted in Islamabad.
Referring to a famous poem by Muhammad Iqbal, Tirmizi said Iqbal once envisioned Tehran as a future “Geneva” of diplomacy. He added that Islamabad could now emerge as a place where all parties feel secure enough to engage in dialogue.
According to the envoy, if mutual understanding is achieved, Islamabad could become a central venue for future negotiations, similar to the diplomatic roles previously played by Geneva and Oman in regional diplomacy.