ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Tuesday slammed last month`s attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran as `unacceptable`asheattended a ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in China`s Tianjin, Dawn.com reports.

The SCO is a 10-nation Eurasian security and political grouping whose members include China, Russia, Pakistan, India, and Iran. The group`s foreign ministers meet as a precursor to the annual summit of its leaders, which will be hosted by China this autumn in Tianjin.

Addressing the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers, Dar said:`We have strongly condemned the unjustified and illegitimate aggression by Israel against the Islamic Republic ofIran and the US strikes on its nuclear facilities.

`Such illegal actions directed against SCO memberstates are unacceptable. We are increasingly concerned at the trends of using aggression as a tool of policy,` he said.`We emphasise the resolution of long-standing disputes through peaceful means, dialogue, diplomacy and according to the principles of international law, justice and fairness,` he added.

In a post on X after the meeting, Dar said: `At the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting today, we reaffirmed our shared commitment to multilateralism, mutual respect and regional stability. The Shanghai Spirit continues to guide us towards dialogue, mutual trust and the pursuit of a more just and inclusive international order.

He also held a bilateral meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the session.

During the meeting, the two leaders reviewed the stateof bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Iran across various sectors and exchanged views on the evolving regional situation in the wake of recent Israeli aggression against Iran, a DPM`s Office news release said.

Dar reaffirmed Pakistan`s unwavering solidarity with the people and government of Iran and underscored the country`s principled commitment to regional peace and stability.

He emphasised that dialogue and diplomacy must remain the only viable path toward deescalation and achieving lasting peace in the region.

Meeting with Xi Earlier on Tuesday, Deputy PM Dar met President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing as he represented Pakistan in a joint call of the SCO foreign ministers.

In a post on X, the deputy PM said he was `delighted` to meet with Xi and conveyed the `warm greetings of the leadership, government and people of Pakistan`.

`As iron-clad brothers and allweather strategic cooperative partners, we remain committed to deepening Pak-China enduring friendship and advancing shared regional goals,` he posted on X.

The Chinese president, welcoming the heads of delegations, underlined the `salience of regional cooperation` underthe ambit of the SCO, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mofa).

Shortly later, Dar arrived in Tianjin along with other foreign ministers to lead Pakistan`s delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers` meeting, according to Mofa.

Meetings with SCO members` ministers Dar also met the foreign ministers of various other SCO member states on the sidelines of the joint call on Xi.

`Always good to exchange views for strengthening regional understanding and cooperation in such a challenging time,` he said on X about his meeting with his Iran,Uzbekistan and Belarus counterparts.

`Both leaders reviewed bilateral cooperation across diverse areas and discussed the evolving regional situation following the recent Israeli aggression against Iran,` the Foreign Office said of FM Dar`s meeting with his Iranian counterpart.

Dar also met Russian FM Sergei Lavrov. `Both sides expressed satisfaction over the positive trajectory of bilateral ties and agreed to further enhance cooperation in trade, energy, agriculture and defence,` the FO said, with Dar reiterated the invitation for FM Lavrov to visit Pakistan.

In separate meetings with Kazakhistan FM MuratNurtleu and Kyrgyzstan`s Zheenbek Moldokanovic, Dar and the ministers reaffirmed a commitment to the enhancement of positive bilateral ties and expanding collaboration across areas of interest.

According to an earlier statement from the Mofa, Dar is set to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the SCO member states during his visit to China.

The deputy premier arrived in Beijing last night, where he was received at the airport by Ambassador Yu Hong and other senior officials of the Asian Affairs department of China`s Mofa, as well as Pakistan`s ambassador to China, Khalil urRehman Hashmi.

India`s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Russia`s Sergei Lavrov and Iran`s Abbas Araghchi are among the top diplomats arriving in Beijing for the SCO moot.

Win-win cooperation Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that Beijing and New Delhi should work towards mutual trust and `win-win` cooperation, after talks with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, state news agency Xinhua reported.

China and India should `adhere to the direction of good-neighborliness and friendship` and `find a way formutual respect and trust, peaceful coexistence, common development and win-win cooperation`, Wang said, according to Xinhua.

The two foreign ministers met in Beijing as the two rivals seek to repair ties following a 2020 clash on their border.

Xi vows greater support for Russia As foreign ministers gathered in Beijing for SCO talks, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russia`s top diplomat that their countries should `strengthen mutual support`, state media said.

Meeting Lavrov in the Chinese capital, Xi said the two countries should `strengthenmutual support on multilateral forums`, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Beijing and Moscow should work to `unite countries of the global South and promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction`, Xi said, according to Xinhua.

Russia`s foreign ministry in an earlier statement said, `A number of issues of bilateral political contacts at the highest and high levels were discussed.` They included preparations for President Vladimir Putin`s visit to China to join a SCO summit and World War II anniversary celebrations.

Additional input from Agencies