PM and MBS agree to work towards regional peace
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• Field Marshal Munir, Foreign Minister Dar accompany premier in meeting with Saudi crown prince
• FO portrays its role as ‘bridge builder’ amid regional tensions, says Islamabad is in touch with all stakeholders
ISLAMABAD: Amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran that has embroiled nearly all Gulf states in a quagmire, Pakistan on Thursday expressed full solidarity with Saudi Arabia as two countries vowed to play an effective role to restore peace in the region.
These commitments were reiterated when Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman during a brief visit on Thursday.
According to the PM’s Office, he held a ‘restricted’ meeting with the crown prince, who is also the prime minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir were also present.
At the outset, the Prime Minister Shahbaz conveyed his respectful regards and best wishes to the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and expressed profound appreciation for the Kingdom’s longstanding support to Pakistan.
“The prime minister expressed Pakistan’s full solidarity and support for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in these challenging times,” said an official press release issued by the PMO.
It said both leaders had an in depth exchange of views on the recent developments in the region and agreed to work together for regional peace and stability.
The prime minister assured Saudi crown prince that Pakistan would always stand firmly with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and strive for their mutual desire for peace in the region.
Earlier, the premier was received at the Royal Terminal of Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport by Deputy Governor of Makkah Region Prince Saud bin Mishal bin Abdulaziz, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmad Farooq, Pakistan’s Consul General in Jeddah Syed Mustafa Rabani and other diplomatic staff.
The visit is supposed to be a short one, and the PM is expected to return to Pakistan after his meeting with the Saudi crown prince. Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said the premier was undertaking the visit at the invitation of the crown prince.
‘Dialogue and diplomacy’
Separately, addressing a weekly press briefing, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi stressed PM Shehbaz’s visit should “also be seen in the broader context of Pakistan’s efforts to advocate and facilitate an early cessation of hostilities and violence in the region, with the aim of paving the way for dialogue and diplomacy”.
He noted that throughout the current wave of conflict, Pakistan has “been urging three points to our interlocutors”.
One of them being “respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity and a commitment to refrain from use of force within each other’s sovereign territory”, the FO spokesperson said.
Secondly, “upholding international law and the principles enshrined in the UN charter and the third point is resuming dialogue, engagement to pursue a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the crisis”, he added.
Just a day ago, PM’s Spokesperson for Foreign Media Mosharraf Zaidi said that Pakistan would be there for Saudi Arabia “before it is needed”.
On March 7, a week after the war erupted with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir visited Saudi Arabia to meet with Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud.
The two “discussed the gravity of the security situation accruing from Iranian drone and missile attacks on the kingdom”, the military’s media affairs wing said.
They also discussed joint measures needed to halt such attacks within the framework of the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia last year.
‘Bridge builder’
The FO spokesperson said Pakistan was playing the role of a “bridge builder” during the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.
During a question-answer session, a reporter mentioned that Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar had previously spoken about Islamabad “shuttling communications between Tehran and Riyadh to try to ease tensions”.
“Has that been Pakistan’s role between Tehran and any other country?” the FO spokesperson was asked.
In response, Mr Andrabi said: “Yes, we have had an open channel of communication.” He then recounted the phone calls that PM Shehbaz and Dar had held with dignitaries in other countries, saying “there is a level of exchange of communication”.
“We are playing the role of a bridge builder. Our principal position on issues regarding sovereignty, international law and the UN Charter, and on dialogue and diplomacy, is respected in all regional capitals. So, this allows us to exercise a channel of communication between the relevant capitals,” he added.
Responding to other questions on this matter, he reiterated that Pakistan had “undertaken a high-level exchange between relevant states”, and added that Islamabad’s engagements with the US also continued. “There are various levels of engagement. You may recall that the foreign secretary had a telephone conversation with the US undersecretary of state. Various other levels of diplomatic engagement continue with the US, and we will keep you updated on these developments as and when they happen,” Mr Andrabi said.
He also mentioned that Pakistan had been “in touch with the State Department through our embassy in Washington. The US embassy here is also in touch. So, yes, these dialogues are ongoing”.
The FO spokesperson also said that PM Shehbaz had held a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday and exchanged Ramazan greetings. “The prime minister offered condolences on the martyrdom of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,” he said, adding that in a follow-up to his letter to Mojtaba Khamenei — who has been elected the new supreme leader of Iran — the prime minister congratulated the Iranian president on Mr Mojtaba’s assumption of this “onerous responsibility”.
The FO spokesperson was also asked about Pezeshkian’s post on X on Wednesday, in which the Iranian president outlined the conditions for ending the war. Mr Andrabi said that “we took note of it as an ongoing discourse”.
“This is what diplomacy is, that you discuss all these issues. The audience of the tweet from the Iranian side is international, and everybody is aware of these conditions.
Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2026
