PM takes president into confidence on US-Iran talks

Shehbaz briefs Zardari on upcoming visits to Saudi Arabia, Turkiye

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif briefed President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday about his upcoming visits to Saudi Arabia and Turkiye “for further engagement to promote peace efforts” and took him into confidence on “all aspects of the dialogue” between Iran and the United States, a statement issued by the President’s Secretariat said.

Pakistan hosted direct Iran-US talks in Islamabad over the weekend, marking the highest engagement between the two sides since 1979, seeking a resolution to the US-Israeli war on Iran. However, both delegations departed the capital on Sunday after the talks ended without an agreement, but also without a breakdown.

It is now being reported that negotiating teams from the US and Iran could return to Islamabad later this week.

On Monday, PM Shehbaz also told a meeting of the federal cabinet that “full efforts” were ongoing to resolve the conflict.

The President Secretariat’s statement said PM Shehbaz called Zardari at the Aiwan-i-Sadr today, and the latter “appreciated the untiring efforts” by Pakistan in hosting a dialogue between the US and Iran.

The president discussed the prevailing security and diplomatic situation in the region, saying that the situation had a “far-reaching impact not only on the region but also on the global security, economy and politics at large”, the statement added.

It said that PM Shehbaz took President Zardari into “confidence on all aspects of the dialogue” between Iran and the US.

For his part, the statement continued, PM Shehbaz briefed the president in detail on the various stages of the dialogue and the progress achieved through Pakistan’s mediation.

“He also apprised the President of his upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia and Turkiye for further engagement to promote the peace efforts,” it said.

According to the statement, President Zardari praised PM Shehbaz, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, as well as all state institutions, for their “untiring efforts in making this diplomatic initiative a great success”.

He noted that the “seamless coordination between all stakeholders was instrumental in facilitating this high-level engagement”, the statement said.

It added that the president highlighted the “historic role Pakistan has played in promoting global peace and regional stability”.

He said that by providing a platform for such a critical dialogue, Pakistan had reaffirmed its position as a “responsible and pivotal state in the international community and proved its peace-making credentials to the world once more”.

President Zardari said that the PM and deputy prime minister should remain “proactively engaged with the United States and Iran, as well as major regional and global powers, to ensure the sustainability of the peace process and regional harmony”.

Apart from PM Shehbaz, DPM Dar, Special Assistant to the PM on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, former PM Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman and former Senate chairman Nayyar Bukhari were also present at the meeting, the statement said. Staff Report