Pakistan invites S Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt for Middle East talks

Islamabad [Pakistan], March 29: Pakistan has invited top diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt for talks on de-escalating tensions and ending the ongoing war in the Middle East, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who is also the foreign minister, has extended the invitation for the visit on Sunday and Monday to the foreign ministers from the "brotherly countries," according to a statement.
"During the visit, the foreign ministers will hold in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region," the statement said. The statement did not elaborate or share any further details about the agenda of the meeting.
The visiting dignitaries are also to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the two-day visit to Pakistan, the Foreign Ministry said.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry later said that Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Atty had travelled to Islamabad to attend a four-party ministerial meeting on the war in the region.
Pakistan shares an around 900-kilometre-long border with Iran and has offered to act as a mediator since the US-Israeli war with Iran spread to the wider region.
Sharif has said his country is ready to host talks. On Thursday, Dar said Islamabad was relaying messages between the United States and Iran to de-escalate tensions. In a post on X, Sharif said he had held a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday. "I reiterated Pakistan's strong condemnation of the continued Israeli attacks on Iran, including recent strikes on civilian infrastructure, and conveyed Pakistan's solidarity with the brave people of Iran," he wrote.
Sharif said he had also thanked the Iranian president "for his appreciation of Pakistan's sincere efforts to advance peace and facilitate dialogue in the region," and informed Pezeshkian of Islamabad's ongoing diplomatic outreach with the US, and Gulf and Islamic countries.
Source: Qatar Tribune