ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s prime minister on Monday stressed the need for “collective efforts” to urgently end the Iran conflict, after Islamabad hosted the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Egypt for talks aimed at de-escalating the war.
The conflict, triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran last month, has escalated into a broader regional confrontation, with Tehran launching retaliatory missile and drone attacks on Israel, US assets and Gulf states, while allied groups have opened new fronts across the Middle East.
The war has also severely disrupted global energy and shipping routes, with Iran effectively halting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas, triggering a global energy shock and raising fears of prolonged instability.
On Sunday, Pakistan hosted foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Egypt in Islamabad for high-level consultations focused on de-escalation efforts, including proposals to restore maritime traffic and create conditions for negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
“I stressed upon the need for collective efforts to urgently bring an end to hostilities that were causing heavy loss of life, economy and property not only in Iran, but across several brotherly Muslim countries,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement on X after meeting the visiting ministers.
