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Middle East

Technical discussions are set to focus on implementing commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, as mediators seek to advance the 60-day implementation framework.

Middle East Roundup, June 20: Iran-US technical talks under Islamabad MoU begin Sunday

Americas

US President Donald Trump discusses efforts that led to Islamabad MoU, which ended 110 days of conflict between US and Iran and establishing a 60-day framework for negotiations; According to Pakistan's Prime Minister's Office, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and PM Sharif backed continued Iran-US negotiations, stressing vigilance against efforts to derail diplomacy as technical talks advance under the Islamabad MoU's 60-day framework.

Middle East Roundup, June 19: US intelligence warns Israel may undermine Iran peace deal

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said Pakistan is continuing its efforts to maintain peace in the region, highlighting the country&rsquo;s diplomatic role in easing tensions and promoting stability, his office said.&nbsp;Addressing the federal cabinet, the prime minister said marathon talks between Iran and the United States held in Islamabad on April 11 lasted 21 hours and marked a major diplomatic breakthrough.&nbsp;He said Pakistan made sincere and coordinated efforts for the success of the negotiations, with contributions from Field Marshal Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and other senior officials.&nbsp;He said the efforts helped extend the ceasefire between Iran and the United States, which continues to hold. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also played an important role in the process, he added.&nbsp;The prime minister informed the cabinet that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Pakistan with his delegation and held multiple rounds of talks, including a two-hour meeting with the prime minister. According to PM Sharif, Araghchi assured that Iran would respond positively after consultations with its leadership.&nbsp;He, however, expressed concern over rising global crude oil prices, saying new prices were expected to be determined on Friday. He described the situation as challenging but said that collective wisdom and coordinated efforts would help keep matters under control.&nbsp;PM Sharif appreciated Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and his team for maintaining stability in domestic fuel supply, saying Pakistan avoided panic at petrol pumps, unlike some other countries.&nbsp;He said the country&rsquo;s oil import bill had increased from $300 million before the conflict to $800 million, putting added pressure on the economy. He also noted a decline in petroleum consumption this week compared with the previous week.&nbsp;The prime minister said that although macroeconomic indicators had been improving, the recent war had affected gains made over the past two years toward economic stability.&nbsp;He further told the cabinet that Pakistan had repaid $3.5 billion in due loans and maintained its foreign exchange reserves with support from Saudi Arabia. He particularly acknowledged the role of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in helping Pakistan sustain its reserve levels.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif chairs a meeting on the promotion of investment in Islamabad, on 28 April, 2026 (Photo: PID)

Foreign Affairs

Says Pakistan is making sincere and coordinated efforts for the success of negotiations, with contributions from Field Marshal Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and other senior officials.

Pakistan’s efforts to maintain regional peace continue: PM Sharif

ISLAMABAD: Foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, T&uuml;rkiye and Egypt reaffirmed the vital role of dialogue and diplomacy in promoting peace in a meeting in Antalya. &nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, T&uuml;rkiye, and Egypt held their third consultative meeting in Antalya, on the sidelines of #AntalyaDiplomacyForum,&quot; said a post shared on X on Saturday by Pakistan&#39;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2045384406215675935&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=9eba5fae7b8021885d4040a30d196f03084a559e&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 672px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2045384406215675935"></iframe></div></div>&quot;They exchanged views on evolving regional dynamics, reaffirming the vital role of dialogue and diplomacy in promoting peace, stability, and shared prosperity.&quot; The foreign ministers expressed a shared commitment to advancing this partnership, deepening coordination and expanding collaboration across key areas of mutual interest, the post said.

The foreign ministers express a shared commitment to deepening coordination and expanding collaboration across key areas of mutual interest.

Pakistan, Saudi, Türkiye and Egypt FMs reaffirm role of dialogue for peace

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&#39;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that Islamabad was ready to host negotiations to help stop the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, as US President Donald Trump reposted the prime minister&#39;s message on his Truth Social platform. &quot;Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the WAR in Middle East, in the interest of peace and stability in (the) region and beyond,&quot; the premier wrote on X. &quot;Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict.&quot;&nbsp;The statement by Pakistan&#39;s prime minister came after the Tehran foreign ministry suggested on Monday that it had received messages from &quot;some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations to end the war,&quot; according to the official IRNA news agency. PM Sharif said he had spoken with Iran&#39;s President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising his government&#39;s help in bringing peace to the region. Pakistan&#39;s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said he had been in touch with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi. Iran is a long-standing ally of Pakistan, and Islamabad condemned the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It also sent congratulations to his son and successor, Mojtaba.&nbsp;Trump postpones military strikes for five daysEarlier on Monday, President Trump stated on Truth Social that the US and Iran had &ldquo;over the last two days&rdquo; very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East. While he stated that the &ldquo;constructive conversations&rdquo; will continue throughout the week, he added that he has directed the Department of War to &ldquo;postpone any and all military strikes against Iran&#39;s power plants and energy infrastructure for a five-day period.&rdquo; He stated that the pause in the strikes was contingent on the success of ongoing meetings and discussions.&nbsp;Later in the day, while speaking at a roundtable in Memphis, President Trump reiterated that he directed the Department of War to temporarily postpone planned strikes against major energy and electricity targets in Iran.&nbsp;China praises Pakistan&rsquo;s role in Middle EastAt a press conference in Islamabad, Ambassador Jiang Zaidong of the People&#39;s Republic of China commended Pakistan&#39;s mediation role in the Middle East.&nbsp; He said China supports resolving disputes through dialogue rather than force, and opposes unilateral actions and power politics in the Middle East. He said China opposes subordinating international law to domestic law, as the actions taking place in the Middle East are violating the UN Charter.&nbsp;&nbsp;He also emphasized that non-military targets should not be attacked and the security of sea lanes should not be disrupted. On-going casualitiesThe ongoing US-Israel war on Iran has entered its fourth week, with the joint strikes resulting in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1976870" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">assassination&nbsp;</a>of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini, and Ali Larijani, a military officer and former speaker of the Iranian parliament.&nbsp;The conflict, which began on Feb. 28 last month and has now entered its 24th day, has caused widespread economic destruction and casualties in the region.

Security

In his post on X, PM Sharif wrote: "Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict."

Articles tagged with "Middle East Peace"

Middle East Roundup, June 20: Iran-US technical talks under Islamabad MoU begin Sunday

Middle East Roundup, June 19: US intelligence warns Israel may undermine Iran peace deal

Pakistan’s efforts to maintain regional peace continue: PM Sharif

Pakistan, Saudi, Türkiye and Egypt FMs reaffirm role of dialogue for peace

Pakistan PM says ready to host US-Iran talks, Trump reposts on Truth Social