Foreign ministers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt will meet in Islamabad for talks on the conflict in the Middle East, the government said.
It said yesterday that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had invited his counterparts and that they would be in the Pakistani capital today and tomorrow.
“During the visit, the foreign ministers will hold in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region,” a foreign ministry statement said.
The visiting foreign ministers would also meet Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, it said.
A foreign ministry source earlier said that the quadrilateral meeting would take place tomorrow, with delegations expected to arrive in Pakistan by this evening.
Pakistan has emerged as a key facilitator between Iran and the United States as the conflict drags on, serving as an intermediary for messages between the two sides.
Islamabad has longstanding links with Teheran and close contacts in the Gulf, while Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Amin Munir have struck up a personal rapport with US President Donald Trump.
Ankara’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the private A Haber broadcaster that the meeting was initially planned to be held in Turkiye.
“However, since our Pakistani counterparts are required to remain in their country, we moved the meeting to Pakistan,” he said late on Friday.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said earlier that he expected a direct US-Iran meeting in Pakistan “very soon”, without revealing his source.
While Teheran has refused to admit to holding official talks with Washington, Iran has passed a response to Trump’s 15-point plan to end the war via Islamabad, according to an anonymous source cited by the Tasnim news agency. — AFP
