Global News

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday arrived in Saudi Arabia after completing his visit to Iran, as part of Pakistan’s efforts to help defuse tensions sparked by hostilities between Tehran and Washington in the Middle East.

Pakistani envoy Raja Ali Ejaz and Saudi official among others received the foreign minister at the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

FM Qureshi will call on his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud to exchange views on peace and security situation in the region.

On Sunday, the foreign minister met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and urged him to use diplomatic means to dial down tensions in the region and resolve matters amicably.

During his meeting with President Rouhani that encompassed the US-Iran tension, regional peace and the multifaceted Pak-Iran ties, the foreign minister said both the countries enjoyed deep historic, religious, and cultural brotherhood.

Qureshi thanked the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Iranian president on behalf of Prime Minister Imran Khan for raising their voice against Indian atrocities in Occupied Kashmir and supporting Pakistan’s stand.

The foreign minister had kicked off his diplomatic mission on the directives of Premier Imran to discuss peace and share Pakistan’s perspective on Middle East tensions.

The visit comes in the wake recent developments which have seriously risked peace and security in an already volatile region and requires immediate and collective efforts for a peaceful resolution.

US forces killed Iran’s most revered military commander Maj Gen Qassem Suleimani in a drone strike near Baghdad airport on Jan 3, while in revenge Tehran attacked two US military bases in Iraq with missiles five days later. Though the two countries have apparently stood down, tension is still running high in the region.

US officials frequently contacted Pakistani military brass during the crisis, but Islamabad made it abundantly clear that it would not become party to any armed conflict in the region and instead advised all to exercise maximum restraint to avoid war.