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• Says Pakistan is working with partners for diplomatic solution
• Calls for all sides to give peace ‘a little more chance’
• China says hostilities not in any party’s interest
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged all sides in the Middle East conflict on Monday to “exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance” after a fresh exchange of attacks between Iran and Israel.
“The recent surge in violence in the Middle East is a stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to,” PM Shehbaz said in a post on X.
“We sincerely urge all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance,” he wrote, emphasising that the “final objective is just about to be achieved”. He said Pakistan was working “earnestly and painstakingly, together with our brothers and partners, to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the conflict”.
“Let us continue to remain on the path of peace and diplomacy, which have bright prospects of success, instead of violence and destruction,” the prime minister said.
PM Shehbaz’s statement came after Israel and Iran exchanged attacks on Monday for the first time since a shaky ceasefire in the Middle East war took effect on April 8, despite US President Donald Trump calling for restraint.
The flare-up saw Israel striking Iran after Tehran targeted it in retaliation for an air strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Saturday. Israel struck the Lebanese capital despite the US announcement of a truce plan last week.
Ceasefire arrangements in Lebanon have failed to secure peace due to Israel’s escalated operations, including strikes, multiple forced displacement orders and the seizure of the historic Beaufort Castle.
The region has been on edge since the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran on Feb 28, triggering Iranian retaliation against Israel and other regional countries hosting US military sites.
A temporary ceasefire between Washington and Tehran was reached on April 8 after Pakistan-led mediation efforts. The ceasefire remains formally in place, but has been repeatedly tested by military incidents in and around the Gulf region.
However, indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran for a long-term peace agreement have drifted into what diplomats describe as a fragile stalemate, despite both sides continuing to publicly endorse diplomacy over renewed confrontation.
At the centre of the deadlock are disagreements over Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, its enrichment programme, the future of sanctions, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and regional security issues.
Stepping up efforts to break the impasse in the US-Iran dialogue, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited Tehran over the weekend, carrying a message from Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir for Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
China urges ceasefire
China said it was “deeply concerned” by the fresh attacks between Israel and Iran, expressing hope that the fragile truce in the Middle East war would be respected.
“Resuming hostilities is not in any party’s interest,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news briefing on Monday, adding: “It is hoped all relevant parties will fulfil their commitment to a ceasefire.”
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc had imposed sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities for threatening the freedom of maritime traffic, Reuters reported.
The EU imposed sanctions on the spokesman for the naval arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a regional command over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, AFP reported.
The 27-nation bloc said it was blacklisting Mohammad Akbarzadeh, spokesperson for the Guards’ naval wing and the organisation’s Hormozgan Provincial Command.
Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2026
