Newsletters
Pakistan is “absolutely determined” to make progress in efforts to de-escalate the conflict between the United States and Iran, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday.
“Pakistan is playing the role of a sincere and honest mediator between Iran, our neighborly country, and the United States,” Sharif told reporters at the U.N. in New York, where he is attending the 81st session of the General Assembly.
Recalling that the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, U.S. President Donald Trump and himself, Sharif said: “Unfortunately, events after that got a bit unpredictable.”
“But Pakistan is completely focused. We have not lost hope; we are absolutely determined that we will further make efforts and make progress to de-escalate the situation,” he said.
After the U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28, Pakistan helped secure a ceasefire on April 8 and later hosted more than 20 hours of talks between American and Iranian officials in Islamabad.
Following weeks of mediation, Pakistan and Qatar helped secure the Islamabad MoU, which was signed on June 18 and provided the two sides with a framework and 60 days to negotiate a longer-term agreement aimed at ending the war.
The two sides, however, soon resumed retaliatory strikes, with tensions continuing.
Iranian and American negotiators also held indirect talks Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
Asked whether further meetings were possible, Sharif said it was a “continuous process” and that “all friendly countries are contributing to achieve peace.”
The European Union’s top two leaders on Wednesday praised Pakistan’s diplomatic role in mediating between the United States and Iran as efforts to de-escalate the conflict and revive negotiations intensified on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with Sharif in New York, according to a statement by the prime minister’s office.
“We work together on stability and security. We thanked the Prime Minister for his initiative to mediate in the conflict between the U.S. and Iran,” the two EU leaders said in separate identical statements on X.
Sharif, Costa and von der Leyen exchanged views on regional and global developments and “reaffirmed the importance of dialogue, diplomacy, international law and the peaceful resolution of disputes,” the prime minister’s office said.
The call for a peaceful end to disputes came amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Pakistan is playing an important role in support of de-escalation, dialogue and the peaceful resolution of conflicts,” Costa and von der Leyen said.
Islamabad has played a major mediating role between the U.S. and Iran since the United States and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran in February.
Sharif’s office said the sides reviewed the “full spectrum” of bilateral ties and that he reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to “further strengthening its broad-based partnership with the European Union and to the full implementation of the Pakistan-EU Strategic Engagement Plan.”
“The EU values its partnership with Pakistan. Our Strategic Engagement Plan reflects both the breadth of this partnership and the shared commitment to democracy, the rule of law, human rights and civic space,” Costa and von der Leyen said.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
