ISLAMABAD ( WNAM REPORT ): Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Saudi Arabia and Türkiye ahead of a possible second round of talks in Islamabad to end the US-Israel war amid a fragile two-week ceasefire, an official statement said on Tuesday.
Sharif met with President Asif Zardari to brief him on Pakistan’s ongoing mediation between the two warring sides, including his upcoming visits to Saudi Arabia and Türkiye “for further engagement to promote the peace efforts,” a statement from the president’s office said.
Though there was no schedule of Sharif’s visits in the statement, a Foreign Ministry source earlier told Anadolu that he will leave for Riyadh to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohamad bin Salman on Wednesday.
He will visit the Turkish capital Ankara after his trip to Riyadh, the source said.
Zardari, in his remarks, said that “by providing a platform for such a critical dialogue, Pakistan has reaffirmed its position as a responsible and pivotal state in the international community and proved its peace making credentials to the world once more.”
Pakistan, after securing a two-week ceasefire last week, hosted rare in-person talks between Washington and Tehran on Saturday, which concluded without an agreement.
Two Pakistani government sources familiar with the mediation told Anadolu that a second round of talks is expected to take place in Islamabad “very soon” at Pakistan’s invitation.
More than 3,300 people have been killed in US-Israeli airstrikes in Iran since Feb. 28, according to Iranian authorities. Tehran retaliated with missile and drone strikes targeting Israel, Iraq, Jordan, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets before a two-week ceasefire was announced last week.
