Pakistan foreign office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi’s statement comes two days after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Islamabad was “ready and honoured” to facilitate “meaningful and conclusive talks” between the US and Iran to end the ongoing conflict.
Shehbaz’s announcement came in the background of media reports about backdoor efforts by Pakistan, along with Egypt and Turkiye, to broker peace in West Asia.
“We would be honoured to host and facilitate meaningful talks between the two sides in the coming days for a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the ongoing conflict,” Andrabi said at the weekly press conference here.
He also said that the five-point initiative proposed by China and Pakistan for restoring peace and stability in West Asia was a major outcome of the visit of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to Beijing and that the initiative had been well-received “across the region and beyond.”
“It is an effort towards ending war, it is an effort towards cessation of hostility, and it is an effort towards paving the way for a sustainable pathway towards finding the lasting settlement of the ongoing hostilities,” Andrabi said.
The quadrilateral consultations between the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt provided an opportunity to further strengthen Pakistan’s cooperation and coordination with these countries.
The spokesperson also said Iran and the US expressed their confidence in Pakistan to facilitate talks aimed at ending the war in the region.
Pakistan has “a very important relationship” with the US and remained “actively engaged” with the US leadership to de-escalate the situation and find a peaceful settlement of this conflict, he said.