By Jahanzaib Saqib — SCN News
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and Lebanon agreed on Tuesday to strengthen intelligence sharing and expand security cooperation against terrorism, drug trafficking and other forms of transnational crime, giving a more operational dimension to bilateral ties as Islamabad pushes diplomatic engagement aimed at containing instability across the Middle East.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Lebanese counterpart Ahmad Al-Hajjar reached the understanding during talks at Pakistan's Interior Ministry in Islamabad, where the two sides discussed counterterrorism, narcotics trafficking, illegal immigration, money laundering and cybercrime, according to Pakistan's Interior Ministry.
The ministers first met one-on-one before leading delegation-level talks involving senior security officials. They agreed to strengthen coordination between their interior ministries and relevant agencies, with intelligence sharing identified as a central tool for responding to terrorism, drug networks and emerging security threats.
The two countries also agreed to develop institutional cooperation rather than limit contacts to individual ministerial meetings. Lebanese reporting on the talks said discussions included creating an operational mechanism for coordination, exchanging information and expertise and strengthening the ability of security institutions in both countries to respond to common threats.
Naqvi said Pakistan wanted to further expand relations with Lebanon and referred to Islamabad's diplomatic efforts for lasting peace in the region. Al-Hajjar thanked Pakistan for its support and stressed the importance of closer cooperation between the two countries, particularly in security and law enforcement.
The talks come as Lebanon continues to face instability linked to the wider Middle East conflict. Pakistan has repeatedly backed Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity while advocating de-escalation and settlement of regional disputes through diplomacy and dialogue. President Asif Ali Zardari reiterated that position during Al-Hajjar's visit, expressing concern about continuing hostilities and their humanitarian and security consequences.
The security discussions build on another concrete agreement reached during the Lebanese minister's visit. Pakistan and Lebanon signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday establishing a legal framework under which convicted nationals can serve the remainder of their sentences in their home countries. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif witnessed the signing by Naqvi and Al-Hajjar.
The prisoner-transfer agreement and Tuesday's intelligence-sharing understanding together indicate that Islamabad and Beirut are attempting to move bilateral security relations towards more formal institutional mechanisms. Cooperation under discussion now stretches from counterterrorism and narcotics control to criminal justice, migration, money laundering and cybercrime.
President Zardari separately called for greater cooperation on extradition and mutual legal assistance in criminal cases, as well as exchanges of expertise in disaster preparedness, emergency response, urban search and rescue, emergency communications and humanitarian logistics. Those proposals could broaden the relationship beyond conventional intelligence and policing cooperation if translated into further agreements.
The presence of senior Lebanese security officials in the visiting delegation adds weight to the operational focus of the discussions. Al-Hajjar was accompanied during his engagements by senior officials from Lebanon's Internal Security Forces and other security institutions, according to official Pakistani accounts.
For Pakistan, the engagement also fits into a wider diplomatic effort in the Middle East. Islamabad has sought to maintain channels with regional governments during this year's crises and has publicly argued that diplomacy and dialogue should remain the principal means of resolving disputes. Pakistan's Foreign Office has previously described Naqvi's regional engagements as part of a continuing diplomatic effort rather than isolated visits.
The immediate significance of the Pakistan-Lebanon talks, however, lies in the decision to connect those broader diplomatic ties with practical security cooperation. Intelligence sharing against militant networks and organised crime can require sustained agency-to-agency contacts, making implementation of the proposed coordination mechanisms the next test of whether this week's political commitments develop into a durable security partnership.