ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian for the third time in as many days and urged dialogue and diplomacy to restore peace in the Middle East, Sharif’s office said.
The development came a day after Tehran attacked a United States (US) base in Qatar in retaliation for US airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities late last week. The US strikes followed days of Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear program and military leadership.
Qatar condemned the Iranian missile attack and called it a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty, saying it reserved the right to respond directly and in accordance with the international law. The Iranian attack raised fears about a wider conflict in the already volatile region.
The crisis appeared to put Islamabad in a difficult position to balance its equation with Iran, other Gulf partners, and the US, which remains one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and a critical source of military and economic assistance.
“The prime minister said that Pakistan was closely following the rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East. He emphasized the importance of restoring peace through dialogue and diplomacy,” Sharif’s office said after his telephonic conversation with the Iranian president.
