By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif landed in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for a tightly scheduled diplomatic mission, touching down amid a Middle East crisis that shows no signs of easing after weeks of Iranian retaliation against US and Israeli targets.
The visit, which Pakistani officials described as lasting only a few hours, centers on a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the invitation of the Saudi leader. At the Royal Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport, Sharif was received by Prince Saud bin Mishal bin Abdulaziz, the deputy governor of the Makkah region, along with Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ahmad Farooq, and Consul General Syed Mustafa Rabani.
The trip comes as Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, absorb Iranian drone and missile strikes that Tehran has termed as responses to large-scale US-Israeli operations. Pakistan’s government has framed the journey as part of a broader push to de-escalate the conflict, emphasising Islamabad’s role as a mediator even as it balances longstanding ties with both Riyadh and Tehran.
In a statement issued earlier Thursday, the Prime Minister’s Office said Sharif and the crown prince would discuss “the ongoing tensions in the region, the regional security situation and bilateral relations between the two countries.” The office added that the visit “highlights Pakistan’s positive role in the diplomatic arena.”
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, speaking at his weekly briefing in Islamabad, placed the trip in the context of Pakistan’s sustained calls for an immediate halt to hostilities. “Pakistan has been urging three points,” he said: respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity; adherence to international law and the U.N. Charter; and a return to dialogue.
Andrabi described Pakistan as a “bridge builder,” noting open channels of communication with Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. “Our principal position on issues regarding sovereignty, international law and the U.N. Charter, and on dialogue and diplomacy, is respected in all regional capitals,” he said. “This allows us to exercise a channel of communication between the relevant capitals.”
The outreach has included multiple phone calls by Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar with leaders across the region. On Wednesday, Sharif spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, exchanging Ramadan greetings and offering condolences on the assassination of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Sharif also congratulated Pezeshkian on the election of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader, expressing hope that Iran would see “peace, stability, dignity and prosperity.”
Andrabi confirmed that Pakistan had been in direct contact with Iranian authorities over the safety of Pakistani vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway now disrupted by Tehran’s blockade, which has triggered fuel shortages across the region. The crisis erupted on Feb. 28 when US and Israeli strikes hit Tehran, killing Khamenei. Iran responded by targeting US assets in Gulf countries, prompting a UN Security Council resolution on Wednesday condemning the escalation.
Pakistan has maintained diplomatic engagement with Washington as well, including conversations between its foreign secretary and the US under secretary of state. Just a day earlier, Mosharraf Zaidi, Sharif’s spokesperson for foreign media, underscored the depth of Pakistan’s commitment to Saudi Arabia in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “Both countries, even before the strategic mutual defence agreement, have operated on a principle of being there for the other before they need the other,” Zaidi said. “So, there is no question that we might; we will. No matter what, no matter when.”
Zaidi rejected speculation about specific military aid as “speculative and irresponsible” but made clear that Pakistan’s stance was unequivocal. “We don’t like our friends getting into quarrels with each other, and we certainly don’t like innocent people dying needlessly,” he said. Islamabad, he added, is working to prevent escalation that could further embroil its closest partners.
Those ties were reinforced earlier this month. On March 7, Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces and Army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, traveled to Riyadh to meet Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman. The two sides discussed Iranian attacks on the kingdom and potential joint measures under a strategic mutual defense pact signed last year, according to Pakistan’s military. Days before that visit, Dar publicly credited Pakistani diplomacy with helping deter even heavier Iranian strikes on Saudi territory.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei
On the Iranian side, the new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, delivered his first public remarks on Thursday since assuming power. In a statement broadcast on state television, he vowed to avenge the deaths of Iranian martyrs, keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and continue attacks on US bases. “The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must definitely be used,” he said. Khamenei called on regional governments to evict American bases, describing U. claims of promoting security as “nothing more than a lie.”
Khamenei expressed gratitude to allied militias across the region — Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and groups in Iraq — calling the “Resistance Front” an inseparable part of Iran’s revolutionary values. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later announced they would maintain the strait’s closure in line with his orders.
The day’s violence underscored the threat. Two tankers caught fire in Iraq’s Basra port after being struck by suspected Iranian explosive boats; at least one crew member was killed. Images from the shore showed massive orange fireballs lighting the night sky. Hours earlier, three other vessels were hit in the Gulf, with Iran’s Guards claiming responsibility for setting a Thai bulk carrier ablaze after it ignored their warnings. A separate container ship reported being struck by a projectile near the United Arab Emirates.
Pakistani officials have repeatedly stressed that their diplomatic efforts are aimed at preventing precisely this kind of spiral. “This visit is highlighting Pakistan’s positive role,” the Prime Minister’s Office said, “and Pakistan will continue to play this role.”
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