- DPM Dar accompanies PM Shehbaz on his journey.
- The prime minister’s trip comes amid the war between the United States and Israel against Iran.
- CDF Munir recently met with the Saudi Minister of Defense.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday left for Saudi Arabia to meet Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman to discuss tensions in the Middle East following the US-Israel war against Iran.
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said that Ishaq Dar, who holds the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of External Affairs, is also accompanying the Prime Minister.
Pakistan has stepped up diplomacy after the Iran war, which was caused by the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, which killed its supreme leader and plunged the Middle East into conflict, with Prime Minister Shehbaz and Foreign Minister/Minister Dar speaking to their counterparts in the region, as well as in the Gulf nations, to play their role in easing regional tensions.
Iran has attacked US bases as well as targets in Gulf nations including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, and has also closed the Strait of Hormuz, sending the price of oil soaring, warning that the world should be prepared for $200 a barrel.
Meanwhile, Defense Forces Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman held a meeting last week in which both sides discussed Iranian attacks on the kingdom under the joint strategic defense agreement between the two nations.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the historic Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) in September last year, which treats an attack on either nation as an act of aggression against both.
In a statement released Saturday morning, Khalid bin Salman said the meeting focused on ways to stop the attacks, which he said do not serve the security and stability of the region.
He added that there is hope that the Iranian side will prioritize wisdom and reason and refrain from making “erroneous calculations.”
Saudi Arabia intercepted two drones heading towards the Shaybah oil field on Thursday, as Iran again attacks the facility in its campaign to disrupt global energy markets.
“Two drones heading towards the Shaybah oil field were intercepted and destroyed,” a spokesperson for the country’s Ministry of Defense posted on X.
It came after Saudi Arabia confirmed on Wednesday that it had prevented several drone attacks on the facility, which is crucial to the country’s oil production.
talking to Bloomberg TVThe prime minister’s foreign media spokesman, Mohsarraf Zaidi, recently stated that it is unquestionable that Islamabad will come to Riyadh’s aid “no matter what and no matter when.”
Although Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has expressed regret over the attacks on countries in the region, Tehran has maintained that it will attack those sites that are used to launch attacks on its territory.
The prime minister’s spokesman, Zaidi, stressed that Islamabad and Riyadh have always “acted on the principle of being there for each other.”
