PM Shehbaz welcomes Iran’s willingness to help ease Pakistan-India tensions

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had a telephonic conversation on Saturday evening, during which the former welcomed Iran’s readiness to help de-escalate tensions between Pakistan and India, Tehran’s state-run IRNA reported.

The April 22 attack in Pahalgam saw 26 people, mostly tourists, killed in what is being described as the deadliest armed attack in the disputed Himalayan region since the year 2000. Responsibility for the attack was allegedly claimed by the hitherto unknown The Resistance Front (TRF).

Since the incident, the nuclear-armed nations have unleashed a raft of measures against each other, with India unilaterally suspending the critical Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and Pakistan retaliating by threatening to put the Simla Agreement in abeyance and closing its airspace for Indian flights.

India has implied cross-border linkages of the attackers, while Pakistan strongly denied any involvement.

According to the report, PM Shehbaz reiterated his official invitation to the Iranian president and welcomed Iran’s readiness to help ease tensions.

The premier also emphasised that Pakistan sought peace in the region and that if Iran wishes to play a role in this regard, Islamabad would welcome it.

“Pakistan condemns all forms of terrorism and has no connection to the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, located in the India-held Kashmir region,” the statement read.

Moreover, the prime minister also repeated that Pakistan is ready to “participate in a transparent and unbiased investigation into the terrorist attack”, saying that the country has been one of the greatest victims of terrorism over the past two decades, with thousands of its citizens losing their lives and the government spending billions of dollars to combat this menace.

Regarding India’s decision on the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, he said that weaponising water was “unacceptable and that Islamabad will defend itself at any cost”.

The agency also reported the prime minister “expressed solidarity with the Iranian government and people following the powerful explosion at Shahid Rajaee port, saying Islamabad is ready to assist Tehran in addressing this incident”.

Iran’s President Pezeshkian, for his part, thanked the premier “for his solidarity regarding the incident at Shahid Rajaee port” and praised Pakistan’s efforts for “peace in the region”.

“The Iranian president invited the Pakistani prime minister to visit Tehran, and in return, Sharif renewed his invitation to Pezeshkian to visit Islamabad,” the report read.