‘Pakistan stands by Saudi Arabia’: PM Shehbaz assures MBS amid regional tensions

Pakistan assured on Wednesday its support to Saudi Arabia amid the ongoing attacks between Iran and Israel and the US.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a telephone conversation with His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, this early morning,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said today.

During their phone call, the PM reiterated Pakistan’s strong condemnation of the recent attacks on Saudi Arabia and expressed, once again, Pakistan’s complete solidarity and unequivocal support for the Kingdom and its people, in these challenging times.

“While appreciating the leadership of the Kingdom for demonstrating remarkable restraint in the current crisis, the Prime Minister reassured His Royal Highness that Pakistan would always stand by the Kingdom and the brotherly people of Saudi Arabia, just as they had always supported Pakistan, through thick and thin.”

The premier called for an immediate end to hostilities and a return to normalcy so that the regional situation could be stabilized.

He also called for unity and harmony in the ranks of the Ummah, “which was needed more than ever before”.

PM Shehbaz briefed the Saudi Crown Prince on Pakistan’s constructive diplomatic outreach to all parties urging de-escalation and resolution of differences through dialogue and diplomacy.

“The Crown Prince deeply appreciated Pakistan’s peace efforts.

Both leaders agreed to maintain their close coordination between the two countries, at all levels.”

The phone call came after Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted and destroyed four ballistic missiles launched toward Riyadh last week and an attempted drone attack on a gas facility in the east of the country.

Meanwhile, United States’ Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is reportedly in Islamabad to negotiate with Iranian officials, according to a US based news outlet Dropsite.

The outlet cited diplomatic sources suggesting that US and Iran could meet in Islamabad as early as this week to discuss a potential resolution to the conflict, which began on 28 February this year.

Neither Pakistan’s Foreign Office, nor the Iranian Embassy in Islamabad has officially confirmed that the city will host negotiations, and no formal agreement on talks has been reached.