Syrian foreign minister arrives in Islamabad on official visit

ISLAMABAD: Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani arrived in Islamabad on Thursday on an official visit at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

The visiting dignitary was received upon arrival by the Additional Secretary (Middle East) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is accompanied by a high-level official delegation.

During the visit, the two sides will hold in-depth discussions on the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, review avenues for further enhancing bilateral cooperation, and exchange views on regional and international developments.

According to a Foreign Office statement, the visit marks an important step towards further enhancing Pakistan-Syria relations and advancing cooperation between the two countries.

The visit comes a day after Pakistan strongly condemned the unprovoked attack carried out by Israeli occupation forces on Abu al-Duhur Airbase in Idlib, Syria.

“Such provocative actions constitute a flagrant violation of international law, and have the potential to further undermine regional peace and stability,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said in a statement.

He conveyed Pakistan’s unwavering solidarity with the brotherly people of Syria, and reiterated its full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as peace and prosperity of the Syrian Arab Republic.

“Pakistan also calls on the international community to play its role in ending repeated violations of international law by the Israeli occupation forces, and to hold it accountable for its destabilising actions in the region,” the spokesperson added.

Syria accuses Israel of striking military airfield

Syria accused Israel of striking a military airfield in the country’s northwest on Tuesday.

Israel has been carrying out incursions into Syrian territory since the December 2024 overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, including sending troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian forces in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights since 1974.

It has also hit key military sites, including several airfields, according to a Syria war monitor.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also last month condemned “the continuation of Israeli military actions” and warned that “the unlawful occupation of our land beyond the 1974 line is a direct threat to the security of the region”.

He demanded an “immediate and unconditional withdrawal”.

But last week Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that his country planned to keep troops in Syria.

Israel captured most of the Golan from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and later annexed the areas under its control, in a move not recognised by most of the international community.

The incursions have been condemned by the United Nations chief as “violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Despite tensions between the neighbours, Israel and Syria’s new authorities have held several rounds of direct talks and have agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism.

Syria’s war shattered the country’s infrastructure and pushed millions of people to flee internally and abroad.