Pakistan PM meets Qatar emir amid US-Iran talks push

Pakistan's prime minister, the key mediator in the US-Iran ceasefire, met Qatar's ruler on Thursday during a push by Islamabad for a second round of peace talks between Washington and Tehran.
Shehbaz Sharif's office said the premier had discussed with Qatar's Emir Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani 'the latest regional and international developments, particularly in the Middle East'.
The Qatari ruler praised Pakistan's role and, according to the Pakistani statement, the pair also voiced support for 'de-escalation efforts and enhancing international coordination to ensure the security and stability of the region, particularly ensuring the maintenance of smooth flow of energy supply chains'.
The official Qatar News Agency later reported the Pakistani premier had left Doha. He was due in Türkiye, the last stop in a four-day tour on the heels of high-level talks between US and Iranian delegations in Islamabad last weekend.
The talks in Pakistan failed to reach an immediate agreement to permanently end the war in the Middle East following the start of a two-week ceasefire on April 8.
Qatar, a key mediator with the United States and Egypt in the Gaza war which ended in October, has in recent years played a role mediating with Iran alongside Oman.
However, Doha has repeatedly dismissed the possibility of mediation with Tehran after it came under attack on February 28.

Early in the war, sparked in late February by US and Israeli strikes on Iran, Qatar was forced to suspend liquefied natural gas (LNG) production because of Iranian attacks on key energy infrastructure.
Qatar, which shares the massive South Pars gas field with Iran, is one of the leading producers of LNG along with the US, Australia and Russia. Qatar is a key supplier to Asian nations, including Pakistan.
On Wednesday, the Qatari ruler held a call with US President Donald Trump. A statement from the emir's office said they discussed the impact of the war 'on international maritime security and the stability of global energy markets and supply chains'.
Trump has indicated that a possible second round of peace talks with Iran in Pakistan could take place this week.
Meanwhile, Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said no date had been set for the next round of talks.
'Our role as a mediator and facilitator did not stop when the Islamabad talks, this last round, concluded - it continued,' he said.
The optimism came on the back of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's four-day diplomatic blitz, with the leader meeting on Wednesday with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
US Vice-President JD Vance, who led the first round of talks, has said Iran is being offered a 'grand bargain' to end the six-week war with Israel and the US and address the decades-old dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel and the United States have 'identical' goals - enriched material removed from Iran, elimination of enrichment capability and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait, through which one-fifth of the world's crude oil normally flows, has been choked by Iranian forces since the US-Israeli offensive began and is now the focus of the US blockade.
Optimism about an accord in the conflict sent share prices higher on Wall Street, however, with the major stock indices finishing at records on Wednesday while crude prices dropped.
Washington has sought to turn the screws on Tehran with a blockade of its ports, with US Central Command claiming to have 'completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea'. - AFP