Pakistan is positioning itself as a “bridge builder” to help ease rising tensions in the Middle East, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arriving in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for talks focused on regional peace and security, the Foreign Office said.
According to state-run PTV News, the premier was received at the Royal Terminal of Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport by Deputy Governor of Makkah Region Prince Saud bin Mishal bin Abdulaziz, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmad Farooq, Pakistan’s Consul General in Jeddah Syed Mustafa Rabani and other diplomatic staff.
Sharif left Pakistan for a brief visit to the Kingdom earlier in the day amid heightened regional volatility after the United States and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran. Tehran responded by saying it was targeting American military bases in Gulf states, prompting condemnations from these countries, which said several strikes had hit civilian infrastructure.
The prime minister arrived in Saudi Arabia at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to a statement by Sharif’s office on Thursday evening, and was received at the Royal Terminal of Jeddah’s international airport by Deputy Governor of the Makkah region Prince Saud bin Mishal bin Abdulaziz.
The visit comes at a time when the spillover of the conflict in the region has complicated diplomatic efforts aimed at calming the situation, but the Foreign Office spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, said Pakistan had been in regular contact with capitals across the region since the crisis erupted and is trying to keep channels of communication open.
“And we are playing the role of a bridge builder in a sense that our principal position on issues with respect to sovereignty, international law and the UN Charter and with respect to dialogue and diplomacy is respected in all regional capitals,” Andrabi said during the weekly press briefing.
He said Prime Minister Sharif’s visit to Riyadh should be seen as part of ongoing coordination between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on regional stability.
“The Prime Minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia is part of the coordination between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on matters of regional peace and security and ending violence and hostilities,” he said.
“The Prime Minister’s visit should also be seen in the broader context of Pakistan’s efforts to advocate and facilitate an early cessation of hostilities and violence in the region, with the aim of paving the way for dialogue and diplomacy.”
Islamabad has condemned both the strikes on Iran and the retaliatory attacks launched from Iranian territory against Gulf states, urging all sides to show restraint and resolve their differences through diplomatic means.
The Foreign Office spokesperson said Pakistan has remained diplomatically engaged since the crisis began. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has spoken with his counterparts from several countries in the region to discuss the evolving situation.
The prime minister also held a telephone conversation on Wednesday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, during which the two leaders discussed regional developments.
Andrabi said Pakistan’s position was firmly rooted in international law and the principle that disputes should be resolved through dialogue.
Just a day ago, PM’s Spokesperson for Foreign Media Mosharraf Zaidi said that Pakistan would be there for Saudi Arabia “before it is needed”.
On March 7, a week after the war erupted with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir visited Saudi Arabia to meet with Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud.
The two “discussed the gravity of the security situation accruing from Iranian drone and missile attacks on the Kingdom”, the military’s media affairs wing said.
They also discussed joint measures needed to halt such attacks within the framework of the “Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement” signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia last year.
Days before the CDF’s visit, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar disclosed that Pakistan’s diplomatic intervention helped deter heavier Iranian strikes on Saudi Arabia.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, the premier’s spokesperson was asked about whether Pakistan would come to Saudi Arabia’s aid “militarily or otherwise” amid war in the Middle East.
Zaidi replied: “The question is not whether Pakistan might come to Saudi Arabia’s aid. Both countries, even before the strategic mutual defence agreement, have operated on a principle of being there for the other before they need the other.
“So, there is no question that we might; we will. No matter what, no matter when.”
He stressed that Pakistan was striving to ensure that things did not escalate to a point where “any of its closest partners are further embroiled in a conflict that potentially undermines stability and prosperity”.
Responding to a question about Pakistan’s engagements with Iran, Zaidi had underscored that Islamabad was “very conscious of its responsibility as a close ally and friend” to the countries involved.
“We don’t like our friends getting into quarrels with each other, and we certainly don’t like innocent people dying needlessly,” Zaidi said.
Asked how close Pakistan was to “providing military aid to Saudi Arabia”, Zaidi said that it would be “speculative and irresponsible” to comment on that.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday that military escalation in the Middle East as the war between Iran, Israel and the United States drags on was pushing the region to the “breaking point” and demanded an immediate return to the negotiating table.
In a post on X, the UN said: “Warning that the military escalation in the Middle East is pushing the region to the breaking point, Antonio Guterres calls for end to the hostilities and immediate return to the negotiating table. ‘The region and the world desperately need an off-ramp.'”
He said the massive military strikes launched by the United States and Israel, and the subsequent attacks by Iran on so many countries, constituted a grave threat to international peace and security and had caused “immense suffering” for civilians.