Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and COAS General Raheel Sharif will visit Saudi Arabia and Iran on Monday
ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif would travel to Riyadh and Tehran together on Monday in an attempt to persuade them to de-escalate and resolve their disputes diplomatically.
Riyadh and Tehran have been engaged in a verbal duel since the execution of a top Shia cleric Nimr al Nimr and subsequent arson attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran. Saudi Arabia and some of its allies have cut off ties with Iran, triggering a diplomatic row in the region.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran have always been uneasy. The tensions heightened last year due to the strife in Yemen and the death of over 400 Iranian pilgrims during the Haj stampede. The execution earlier this month of Saudi dissident and Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir Al Nimr, who was a fierce critic of the royal family, further inflamed those tensions and Riyadh snapped its diplomatic relations with Tehran after its embassy was ransacked by protesters.
Sources at the Prime Minister House said that PM Nawaz Sharif will have meetings with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during his emergency visit.
Sources said the main objective of the visit would be to convince both countries to reopen each other’s embassies, which have been shut down since the execution of the Shia cleric. The Pakistani leaders will try to convince both sides to start negotiations to resolve their issues. They would encourage Tehran and Riyadh to discuss their problems at the Organization of Islamic Countries forum instead of relying on proxies.
The Saudis want Pakistan to convince Iran to support the kingdom in stopping the Islamic State group from spreading out of Syria to other Gulf countries, sources said.
Advisor to PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Special Assistant Tariq Fatmi will accompany PM Nawaz.
Additionally, Chinese President Xi Jinping will be visiting Saudi Arabia and Iran from Tuesday where he is expected to emphasize on defusing the situation.