WASHINGTON: Pakistan has reaffirmed its longstanding commitment to peace, dialogue and conflict resolution, with Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh telling a visiting delegation of University of Hartford peacebuilding students that the country’s diplomatic tradition has been shaped by a consistent pursuit of peace at home and abroad.
The Ambassador made the remarks during an interactive session with students from the university’s Master of Arts in International Peacebuilding (MAP) programme, who visited the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C. to learn about diplomacy, mediation, conflict resolution and Pakistan’s role in promoting regional and international peace.
Welcoming the delegation, Ambassador Sheikh briefed the students on Pakistan’s diplomatic priorities, particularly its commitment to dialogue and peaceful resolution of conflicts.
He also highlighted Pakistan’s continued partnership with the United States and stressed the importance of further strengthening the eight-decade-old Pakistan-U.S. relationship.
“Peace is something that is of interest to us, and that has got to do with our genesis as a nation-state carved out of a subcontinent,” Ambassador Sheikh said, noting that Pakistan was founded with an aspiration for peace and had pursued that objective both domestically and internationally.
Reflecting on Pakistan’s diplomatic history, the Ambassador recalled the country’s role in facilitating the historic U.S.-China rapprochement in the early 1970s, describing it as a significant contribution to global peace.
“When we brought the two top economies of today, U.S. and China, together in 1971, we made a sterling contribution to global peace,” he said, referring to Pakistan’s role in facilitating contacts between Washington and Beijing.
Pakistan’s US-Iran Dialogue Efforts Highlighted
Ambassador Sheikh also discussed Pakistan’s recent efforts to facilitate dialogue between the United States and Iran, particularly under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), describing sustained and quiet diplomacy as essential to resolving complex international conflicts.
“Our consistent quest for peace has dictated our diplomatic effort as evidenced by our role in peace making, peace keeping and peace building for almost eight decades now,” he said.
He said Pakistan’s leadership had approached the current U.S.-Iran crisis with “both a sense of history as well as a sense of responsibility,” given Pakistan’s role as a mediator trusted by the two sides.
The Ambassador said Pakistan continued to facilitate diplomatic engagement under the Islamabad MoU framework, underscoring the country’s approach of promoting dialogue and conflict resolution.
The international student delegation was led by Phoebe Milliken, Director of the Master of Arts in International Peacebuilding programme, and Hina Athar Khan, Assistant Director.
The cohort included students from Albania, Ghana, Indonesia, Lebanon and the United States, with professional backgrounds including UN peacekeeping, interfaith harmony, public policy, community-building and nonprofit leadership.
Earlier, Milliken briefed the participants on the University of Hartford’s peacebuilding programme and its emphasis on scholarship, dialogue and practical approaches to peacebuilding. She highlighted the programme’s focus on developing practical skills in dialogue, mediation, reconciliation and constructive community engagement.
The visit provided the students an opportunity to gain first-hand insights into the practice of diplomacy and mediation against the backdrop of Pakistan’s recent efforts to facilitate engagement between Washington and Tehran.
Pakistan’s diplomatic engagement
The students took keen interest in Pakistan’s diplomatic engagement and exchanged views with Ambassador Sheikh on mediation, peacebuilding and contemporary global challenges.
They also discussed Pakistan’s geography, politics, economy and diplomacy in the context of its current efforts to facilitate constructive dialogue between the United States and Iran.
At the conclusion of the visit, Milliken thanked Ambassador Sheikh for hosting the delegation and sharing his perspectives on diplomacy, mediation and major international issues.
Ambassador Sheikh also interacted individually with the students, responding to their questions and comments, and thanked the delegation for visiting the Embassy.
