Replying to IRNA's question at her weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said FM Qureshi’s visit to Iran is on the cards and "we are working towards this".
“The Prime Minister Imran Khan has also spoken on this and advised the foreign minister to undertake the visit so we are working on this,” she said.
The spokesperson said de-escalation is something that Pakistan welcomes there is always a room for engagement for interaction within the region and beyond.
To a question, she said that assassination of General Soleimani has brought the simmering tensions in the region to a dangerous level and Pakistan is making efforts to bring these tensions down.
“Our leadership has already expressed its deep concerns on recent developments. These developments in our view could seriously threaten peace and stability in the region,” she said.
She added that Prime Minister Imran Khan had yesterday said Pakistan has consistently emphasized the importance of restraint and diffusion of tensions, as war is in no one’s interest. She said that this region cannot afford any new conflict.
“The PM also made it clear that Pakistan would not be part of any conflict in the region, but instead would be partner for peace and would continue to make efforts for diffusion of tensions, prevention of conflicts and preservation of peace,” said Aisha Farooqui.
She went on to say Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had wide range of discussions with his counterparts from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, Kuwait and in these discussions foreign minister has reaffirmed that Pakistan would not let its soil be used against any other state nor would become part of any regional conflict.
“I would also like to extend our deepest condolences to the families of all the passengers of the Ukraine airliner that crashed in Tehran,” said the spokesperson.
She said the government and the people of Pakistan offer their profound sympathies and condolences to the Governments and people of Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany and the UK, whose nationals were on board this flight.
To a question, she said the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) represents a very good example of a negotiated settlement of complex issues through dialogue and diplomacy.
“We hope that all parties of the JCPOA would be able to effective measures to resolve all outstanding issues within the framework of the agreement,” added the official.
272**2050
Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish