ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s prime minister said he had a “detailed” call with Iran’s president on Saturday (Mar 28), as foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey prepared to meet in Islamabad for talks on the war in the Middle East.
Shehbaz Sharif’s government has emerged as a key facilitator between Iran and the United States as their war drags on, serving as an intermediary for messages between the two sides.
Top diplomats from Riyadh, Cairo and Ankara are due in the Pakistani capital on Sunday and Monday for “in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region”, the Pakistan foreign ministry said.
They will be hosted by their Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, and a meeting with Sharif is also planned, a statement read.
Egypt also confirmed the talks.
As part of preparations, Sharif said he had a “detailed telephone conversation with my brother President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran earlier today (Saturday), lasting over one hour”.
“I reiterated Pakistan’s strong condemnation of the continued Israeli attacks on Iran, including recent strikes on civilian infrastructure, and conveyed Pakistan’s solidarity with the brave people of Iran,” he wrote on X.
Sharif said he also expressed his condolences “on the tragic loss of precious lives and prayed for the swift recovery of the injured and displaced”.
“I apprised him of Pakistan’s ongoing diplomatic outreach – engaging the United States and brotherly Gulf and Islamic countries – to facilitate dialogue and de-escalation.”
Sharif’s office said separately that Pezeshkian “stressed upon the need to build trust in order to facilitate talks and mediation”.
The pair have spoken previously in recent weeks about the conflict and Pakistan’s commitment to bringing it to an end.
Islamabad has longstanding links with Tehran and close contacts in the Gulf, while Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have struck up a personal rapport with US President Donald Trump.
Late on Friday, Ankara’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the private A Haber broadcaster that the meeting was initially planned to be held in Turkey.
“However, since our Pakistani counterparts are required to remain in their country, we moved the meeting to Pakistan,” he said.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said earlier on Friday he expected a direct US-Iran meeting in Pakistan “very soon”, without revealing his source.
While Tehran has refused to admit to holding official talks with Washington, Iran has passed a response to Trump’s 15-point plan to end the war via Islamabad, according to an anonymous source cited by the Iranian Tasnim news agency.