Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reaffirmed Pakistan’s “unwavering solidarity” with Iran during a telephone conversation with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The premier conveyed Pakistan’s condemnation of the US attacks, which “followed Israel’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression over the past eight days”, a statement from the PM Office (PMO) said.

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s “unwavering solidarity with the brotherly people and Government of Iran, while expressing heartfelt condolences on the loss of precious lives and prayed for the swift recovery of the injured”.

While noting Iran’s right to self-defence, PM Shehbaz stressed the “need to immediately return to dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable path forward”.

He also called for urgent collective efforts to de-escalate the situation. The prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s “readiness to play a constructive role in this context”, the statement added.