ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday reaffirmed its commitment to promoting diplomacy to achieve peace in the region, according to the Pakistani foreign office, with a deadlock persisting between the United States and Iran to end their war.
The war, launched by the United States and Israel in late February, has been on hold since April 8, with one failed round of peace talks having taken place in Pakistan since then.
The conflict has disrupted global oil and gas supplies through the Strait of Hormuz and threatened regional economies amid Tehran’s counterattacks against Israel as well as US and commercial interests in the Gulf.
On Saturday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke over the phone with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to discuss the evolving situation and its wider economic implications.
“FM [Dar] underscored Pakistan’s continued efforts to promote constructive engagement and diplomacy in support of peace and stability in the region and beyond,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said.
“Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah commended Pakistan’s sincere efforts aimed at fostering lasting peace and security for the Ummah as well as the wider international community.”
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused unprecedented disruption to energy markets, choking off 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies and causing a record rally in oil prices.
Iran has maintained a stranglehold on the strait since the war began, while the US last month imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he was “not satisfied” with a new Iranian negotiating proposal as peace talks remain frozen despite a weeks-long ceasefire.
Iran delivered the draft to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, the state-run IRNA news agency reported, without detailing its contents.
“At this moment I’m not satisfied with what they’re offering,” he told reporters.
“They want to make a deal, I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happens,” he added, without elaborating on what he sees as the proposal’s shortcomings.
The US president said negotiations have continued by phone after he called off his envoys’ trip to Pakistan last week.
The ceasefire has been in place since April 8 but reports that US President Donald Trump was to be briefed on plans for new military strikes to compel Iran to negotiate pushed global oil prices up to a four-year high at one point on Thursday.
Iran has activated air defenses and plans a wide response if attacked, having assessed that there will be a short, intensive US strike, possibly followed by an Israeli attack, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
