Pakistan hails Syria's efforts to insulate itself from regional blowback at this transitional stage

UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th May, 2026) Pakistan has welcomed Syria's “responsible approach” in seeking to insulate the country from the destabilizing effects of developments in the wider middle East at this “particularly critical stage” of transition and recovery, but warned Damascus of the threat posed by

ISIL/Da'esh.

"The political transition process continues to register gradual yet significant progress," Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council which held a briefing session on the 'Humanitarian and Political Situation in Syria' on Friday.

He called for UN’s continued engagement with Syria for building confidence and trust, and for supporting a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political process.

The 15-member Council’s monthly briefings on Syria have focused lately on the political process under way there after the new Government, which ousted former President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, took power.

In November 2025, the Council adopted Council resolution 2799 (2025) by which it decided to remove Syria’s transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and transitional Minister for Interior, Anas Hasan Khattab, from the list of individuals targeted by sanctions.

In his remarks, the Pakistani envoy described the growing number of Syrians returning home as an “inspiring sign of hope,” likewise welcoming the development of a draft transitional justice law.

“These important steps towards national reconciliation and healing – firmly grounded in due process – are essential for durable peace,” Ambassador Asim Ahmad said.

He advocated "sustained and coordinated" counter-terrorism efforts to curb threats posed by ISIL/Da'esh and other terrorist groups, as well as the presence of foreign terrorist fighters in Syria.

The Pakistani envoy strongly condemned the continued Israeli incursions and violations of Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity, including the occupation of positions in the area of separation, saying these actions violate international law and relevant Security Council resolutions and risk further destabilizing an already fragile regional environment.

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"The Council must ensure that its Resolutions 338 and 497, as well as the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, are fully respected."

The sequential lifting of sanctions presents a key opportunity for Syria's economic recovery, reconstruction and reintegration into regional and global economy, Ambassador Asim Ahmad said.

"These openings must translate into tangible and sustained benefit for the Syrian people," he added.

Briefing the Council, Claudio Cordone, Deputy Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, progress towards accountability and sustained international and regional engagement.

Highlighting developments “of critical importance”, he said that on 10 May, Atef Najib appeared in court on trial for crimes committed at the outset of the revolution in Daraa in 2011.

Bashar al-Assad, Maher al-Assad and others are being tried in absentia in the same case.

The charges include violent repression of peaceful demonstrations, arbitrary detention, torture - including of children - and killings in custody.

Noting that the indictment invokes both Syrian and international law, he said: “It is a commendable effort to situate accountability within a broader legal framework which reflects Syria’s international human rights commitments.”

Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told the Council that Syria's “progress is real, but fragile: We need your concrete support.”

Violence has decreased, sanctions have eased and returns of both refugees and internally displaced people are increasing.

Yet, “funding is falling faster than needs”, Fletcher said. And "humanitarian needs remain enormous."

Two thirds of the population - 15.6 million people - most of them women, girls and children, will require help this year. 

“Current funding levels mean we will reach only about half of them,” he stressed.