DOHA, Qatar: Pakistan-Qatar security cooperation will expand after the countries’ interior ministers agreed on July 27 to deepen their internal-security partnership and discussed regional stability.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi met Qatar’s Interior Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Sheikh Khalifa also commands Qatar’s Internal Security Force, known as Lekhwiya.
The ministers reviewed existing security relations and considered ways to strengthen them, according to an official Qatar News Agency report.
Islamabad’s Interior Ministry said the two sides agreed to increase cooperation between their ministries. They also exchanged views on peace and stability in the Gulf region.
Naqvi said Pakistan remained committed to expanding security cooperation and protecting shared interests. Sheikh Khalifa said Qatar attached considerable importance to its relationship with Pakistan, Radio Pakistan reported.
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Neither government announced specific operational measures or a timetable for implementing the understanding. The official accounts also did not directly connect the meeting with separate US-Iran mediation efforts.
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Naqvi offered condolences to Sheikh Khalifa over the death of his father, former Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
According to Pakistan’s Interior Ministry. Naqvi also praised the former ruler’s contribution to Qatar’s development. Qatar’s Amiri Diwan announced Sheikh Hamad’s death on July 12. He was 74.