Hina Rabbani Khar from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) expressed the remarks during an interview with the English-daily Express Tribune.
Ms. Rabbani, who was appointed the 26th Foreign Minister of Pakistan during the rule of the People's Party in February 2011, said Pakistan needs to be strong from within in order to be able to play a more proactive regional role.
"I remember we worked very hard on this [Pakistan and its ties with Saudi Arabia and Iran] when PPP was in government, and I was in the foreign ministry. We took a very strong stance that Pakistan has strong ties with both countries," she said.
The representative of the Pakistan National Assembly said Pakistan's stance is equally positive and friendly towards Iran and Saudi Arabia.
"It is in our interest to pursue good, brotherly, strong relations based on mutual trust and respect with both countries. We would strive to strengthen relations with both countries at the same time," Khar noted.
She went on to say Pakistan has to concentrate inward to strengthen itself to be in a position to be able to play any of those roles with more credibility.
"Right now, Pakistan's interests should be more local; they should be entirely concentrated on making Pakistan an independent country that is able to make its economic, political, and diplomatic choices on its own terms," said the former foreign minister.
In April this year, Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan had welcomed the statement of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince on good relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
"Iran is our neighbor and Saudi Arabia is our closest friend and this peace initiative will strengthen the Muslim Ummah," he said.
Meanwhile, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan on the sidelines of the G20 summit said in Rome yesterday negotiations with Iran are friendly.
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