ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif set off on a four-day diplomatic blitz to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Türkiye on Wednesday, his office said, in a feverish round of diplomacy before a possible second round of US-Iran peace talks. "Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will undertake official visits to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar and the Republic of Türkiye from 15-18 April 2026," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement, using Türkiye's official name.
The visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar will be conducted "in the bilateral context", while Sharif will participate in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum while in Türkiye. He will also hold bilateral meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other leaders on the sidelines of the Antalya forum, the statement said.
Iran said on Wednesday that exchanges with the United States via Pakistan had continued following failed negotiations over the weekend.
"Since Sunday, when the Iranian delegation returned to Tehran, several messages have been exchanged through Pakistan," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing. "Today, we are very likely to receive a Pakistani delegation as a continuation of the discussions in Islamabad," he added.
Iranian state TV said Tehran will welcome a Pakistani delegation led by army chief Asim Munir on Wednesday, after the Islamic republic confirmed that exchanges with the US had continued via Pakistan after failed talks in Islamabad to end the war. State TV reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will welcome the delegation, which will bring a new message from Washington following the negotiations in the Pakistani capital over the weekend.
The Islamabad talks ended without an agreement to end the conflict, but US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that negotiations could resume this week in the Pakistani capital. A fragile ceasefire remains in place until next week, despite the United States ordering a naval blockade of Iran. Sharif was accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar — one of the mediators during the US-Iran talks — and other senior officials on his visits, his office said on Wednesday afternoon. — AFP
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