Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
They will discuss Pakistan-Iran relations and the situation in the region, the PMO said in a post on social media.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi are also present at the meeting, as well as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The anticipated engagement with the Iranian president comes as Islamabad continues efforts to bring the United States and Iran back to the negotiating table.
Pezeshkian struck a defiant tone speaking at the UN for the first time since Washington and Israel launched an all-out war on his country, vowing Tehran would never “bend at the knee”. He made no reference to the talks to resolve the stalled war in his steely speech.
However, the Iranian side earlier this week indicated its willingness to return to dialogue with the US to de-escalate tensions.
Diplomatic sources say Qatar is handling the immediate shuttle diplomacy between the US and Iran in New York, while Pakistan is working through a parallel channel with Tehran as regional efforts intensify to keep the latest diplomatic contacts from collapsing.
The distinction has emerged from reporting by US and international media on the renewed US-Iran contacts around the United Nations General Assembly, with Qatar and Pakistan both involved in efforts to keep communication open between Washington and Tehran.
PM Shehbaz is expected to address the UNGA on Friday.
More to follow
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