- PM’s visit thought to be ‘need of the hour’ for Iran, Saudi Arabia relations
- Pakistani politicians welcome visit, say it will help fix rift between Saudi Arabia, Iran
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will start his visit to Saudi Arabia and Iran from today (Monday) to help the two countries resolve their issues in a peaceful manner.
Pakistan wants to ease the recent tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran in a peaceful manner, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office on Sunday. For this purpose, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will visit Saudi Arabia and Iran today.
A high-level delegation will also accompany the prime minister. Sharif will reach Tehran on Tuesday and exchange views on international and regional issues with the leadership of the two countries.
The statement said Pakistan enjoys deep rooted and brotherly relations with Saudi Arabia and Iran and it has concerns over the tension between the two Muslim countries. It said Pakistan is pursuing a policy of brotherly relations among member countries of the OIC.
Meanwhile, Pakistani politicians on both sides of the aisle on Sunday welcomed the visit, as it would help ease tension between the two Islamic countries.
By removing differences and forging unity among Muslim countries, it would further prepare the Ummah to collectively face future challenges, they added.
Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Mushahid Hussain Sayed said it was a very positive and timely initiative by the prime minister, and Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif, to visit the two countries for defusing tension between them.
Such a bold step taken by the Pakistani leadership was a good omen for Ummah unity, Senator Mushahid, who is also Secretary General of Pakistan Muslim League-Q, told APP.
He opined that since Pakistan enjoys good relations with both Saudi Arabia and Iran, it could play a pivotal role in de-escalating their tension. “Defusing the mounted Saudi-Iran pressure is not only in the interest of Pakistan but the whole region,” he observed.
Awami National Party (ANP) Spokesman Zahid Khan expressed hope that mediation by Pakistan would help normalise the strained situation in the region as it was in the best interest of the whole Muslim Ummah.
From the first day of the Saudi-Iran standoff, he said, his party stressed the need of mediation and opposed to become a party to the conflict.
“ANP Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan also suggested against interfering in the affairs of the two countries and called for settling the issues through dialogue and meaningful mediation,” he added.
Pakistan People Party’s (PPP) Senator Taj Haider said that Pakistan had already suffered a lot. Forging unity among the Muslim Ummah was the dream of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, as he was the champion of pan-Islamisation.
This timely move by the Pakistani leadership would go a long way in easing tensions between both the countries, he added.
Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Senator Sirajul Haq termed the visit a wise step, and said that the entire nation wanted a resolution of the tension between the two countries through peaceful negotiations.
“The reconciliatory role being played by the prime minister at this critical juncture will further boost Pakistan’s image in the comity of nations, particularly the Muslim Ummah,” he said.
He said imperialistic forces were hatching conspiracies to pitch Muslim countries against one another.
Siraj urged both Saudi Arabia and Iran to sort out the difference themselves as it would help foil the conspiracies of the foes.
Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the prime minister had taken the required initiative to reach out to the leadership of two important Muslim countries for sorting out their differences.
“The prime minister’s reconciliatory role will help forge unity among the Muslim countries, besides removing differences among the Ummah,” he added.
Amir Jamiat Ahle Hadith Prof Sajid Mir said the prime minister’s visit was the need of the hour, as it would help forge a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Majority of Pakistanis wanted the country to play a mediatory role between the two Muslim countries, he added.
Meanwhile, ex-diplomats and leading analysts of the country, while lauding the decision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to visit Saudi Arabia and Iran, have termed it a ‘bold initiative’ in the interest of unity and solidarity of the Muslim Ummah.
Former ambassador Fauzia Nasreen expressed hope that the initiative will have a positive outcome and will help diffuse the mounting tensions in the region, beset with already the volatile situation in Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
“Pakistan’s involvement in the broader perspective of the Arab Peninsula currently undergoing tensions and unrest will yield positive results,” a diplomatic expert Rasool Bux Raees asserted.
A defence analyst Talat Masood said Pakistan took a right and correct position by assuming a reconciliatory role.
Taking the prompt initiative, the prime minister would be making a case for Muslim unity and harmony, another defence analyst Brig. (r) Mahmood Shah maintained.
