Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Maldives, Vice Admiral (Retired) Faisal Lodhi, has said Pakistan's friendship and support for Maldives come without conditions, stressing that Maldives has the sovereign right to maintain relations with other countries.
Speaking on WE News English’s Insight programme in an interview published late October, Lodhi said Pakistan did not expect its partners to limit their relationships with other nations in exchange for its support.
Our support. Our help, our friendship. Let's say with other countries also and with Maldives also. It's not with any conditions. We don’t force or we don’t expect that we will support you for this, but then you should not keep relations with that country
His remarks came in response to a question about regional developments and Pakistan’s position on Jammu and Kashmir, during which he acknowledged that Maldives maintains relations with both Pakistan and India.
High Commissioner Lodhi said that Maldives had the sovereign right to choose its partners.
It is their choice. It is their sovereign right,
On Kashmir, He reiterated Pakistan’s position that it remained an unresolved dispute that should be settled in accordance with United Nations resolutions.
He also pointed to shared positions on Palestine and opportunities for cooperation on climate change, including exchanging expertise in disaster forecasting, technology and adaptation
Discussing President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s visit to Pakistan, High commissioner described the engagement as an opportunity to develop bilateral relations into a more sustainable partnership with tangible outcomes.
He said approximately 20 memorandum of understanding covered areas including health, education, youth and sports, agriculture, food security, defence and maritime security.
These included agreements supporting university exchanges and cooperation between police academies, with Lodhi saying training for Maldivian police personnel in Pakistan had resumed after a lengthy interruptions.
On trade, High commissioner said Muizzu and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced an ambition to increase annual bilateral trade to US$200 million within two years.
He identified direct air and sea connections as important to expanding commerce, alongside cooperation between Maldives’ State Trading Organization and the Trading Corporation of Pakistan.
Lodhi said both countries’ leaderships wanted direct flights restored, while a renewed tourism memorandum offered opportunities for closer cooperation in the sector.
On regional cooperation, he said Maldives and Pakistan shared similar views on the importance of reviving the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, describing the currently inactive organisation as an important platform.
He added that more frequent leadership and parliamentary exchanges, alongside continued defence training and maritime cooperation, could help translate the relationship into practical benefits for both countries
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