ISLAMABAD/TEHRAN â Pakistan on Sunday stepped up diplomatic engagement with Iran as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate amid fresh US military strikes and growing security concerns in Strait of Hormuz.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, during which both leaders discussed the deteriorating regional situation.
Reaffirming Pakistanâs commitment to regional peace, the prime minister assured President Pezeshkian that Islamabad would continue to play a constructive and impartial role in facilitating dialogue and supporting every effort aimed at maintaining stability.
President Pezeshkian thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and other senior Pakistani officials for attending the funeral of the late Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. He appreciated Pakistanâs consistent support for peace initiatives and reiterated Iranâs commitment to regional stability.
Pakistanâs Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Washington on Friday for talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after backing Chinaâs call for multilateralism at the United Nations, as efforts to preserve a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran remained delicately poised.
ISLAMABAD â Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in what officials described as a crucial round of regional diplomacy involving sensitive international dialogue.
The meeting, held at the Prime Ministerâs House, was attended by top national leadership, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
Iran‘s Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi has held phone conversations with Pakistan‘s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar as well as army chief Asim Munir, amid heightened diplomatic activity around a possible ceasefire and renewed US-Iran engagement, according to Al Jazeera report.
Iran‘s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that the discussions focused on regional developments and issues related to the ceasefire.
In a separate call, Araghchi also spoke with Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraq‘s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
ISLAMABAD â Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
According to the Foreign Office spokesperson, Dar emphasized the need for dialogue to ensure peace and stability in the region and to resolve ongoing issues swiftly. Both leaders agreed to remain in close contact.
The spokesperson also said that the two discussed a planned telephone conversation between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Iranian president later in the day.
However, despite Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifâs initial welcoming of the plan, Dar had later made it clear in so many words that the plan for Gaza would not be acceptable if the amÂeÂndments â jointly proÂposed by eight Muslim coÂuÂnÂtries â were not included.
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He said that during Mondayâs meeting between Trump and Netanyahu, a 20-point plan was announced. He said that he then spoke to the Saudi foreign minister, who said that the urgent points put forth by the eight countries were accepted but some things still required further engagement.
Quoting the Saudi minister, he said that at that point there were two choices: to continue and perhaps Israel will continue its bloodshed, or we let Trumpâs plan be implemented and issue a joint statement.
Changes were made in the plan, Dar told Pakistani lawmakers in parliament.
„I have made it clear that these 20 points which Trump has made public are not ours. These are not the same as ours. I say that some changes have been made in it, in the draft we had,“ he said.