Pakistan on Thursday said it is doing its “utmost” to bring the US and Iran back to the negotiating table under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed last month.
– Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters that negotiations between the “parties” are ongoing to normalize the situation, particularly the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
– He said that Islamabad will continue to support dialogue and diplomacy, maintaining that it remained the “only viable path forward”.
– “We welcome all efforts aimed at sustaining cessation of hostilities and resumption of dialogue between Iran and the US,” he said.
– He added that Pakistan was doing its “utmost” to bring the two parties back to the Islamabad MoU “so that all irritants can be removed in the light of the spirit of the agreement and the Pakistan-Qatar joint statement on June 22”.
– “Pakistan notes with concern that the security situation in the Middle East “remains precarious despite the relative calm of the past few days, which had rekindled hopes,” he went on to say.
– Andrabi urged Washington and Tehran to exercise “maximum restraint and fully adhere to their commitment to resume technical-level talks” in line with the Islamabad MoU and the Pakistan-Qatar joint statement.
– The US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in April and subsequently the Islamabad MoU in Switzerland, however the latest hostilities have cast the future of the agreement into doubt.
– Andrabi also said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud recently agreed to work closely to maintain regional peace and ensure the uninterrupted flow of lawful maritime commerce through the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.