Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed for a brief official visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday amidst ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
The visit comes as Iran continues to retaliate against joint U.S.-Israeli raids by targeting infrastructure in Gulf states housing U.S. military bases, including Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said the visit was undertaken on the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, adding the two would “exchange views on the ongoing tensions in the region, the regional security situation and bilateral relations between the two countries.”
It said the visit would also highlight Pakistan’s “positive role” in the diplomatic arena, emphasizing the country would continue to play this role.
A day earlier, the prime minister spoke with Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian to explore options for ending the conflict. In a posting on X, Pezeshkian referred to the conversation, saying the only way to end the war was “recognizing Iran’s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm international guarantees against future aggression.”
Earlier, during a weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Islamabad had been emphasizing three points to all parties during the ongoing conflict. The first, he said, was “respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity and a commitment to refrain from use of force within each other’s sovereign territory.” The second, he continued, was upholding international law and the principles of the U.N. charter, while the third pertained to engaging a “peaceful, negotiated resolution” to the crisis.
Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar told Parliament he had urged Iran to exercise restraint, as Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia meant that any attack on one was deemed an attack on the other. The same week, Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir met Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman to discuss Iran’s attacks on the kingdom within the framework of the joint strategic defense agreement between the two nations.
Last night, Prime Minister’s spokesperson for Foreign Media Mosharraf Zaidi told Bloomberg TV there was no question that Islamabad would come to Riyadh’s aid “no matter what and no matter when.”