Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will begin a two-day official visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday. During the visit, he is expected to hold talks with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman on strengthening bilateral ties and discuss key regional and international developments.
Sharif will be accompanied by a high-level delegation that includes Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Defence Staff, and other senior ministers, according to a latest Al Jazeera report.
The visit comes as Pakistan continues diplomatic efforts to help ease tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing US-Iran crisis.
Speaking during the Foreign Ministry's weekly briefing, spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Islamabad remains engaged with several countries to find a "comprehensive and sustainable solution" to the crisis involving the strategic waterway.
"We are still engaging with other countries regarding the crisis in the Middle East and the situation in Hormuz. Our diplomatic efforts continue to work towards a comprehensive and sustainable solution regarding the Strait of Hormuz," Andrabi said, as reported by Al Jazeera.
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Pakistan: A Mediator In The Iran Vs US Conflict
Pakistan has also intensified its diplomatic outreach to Iran. Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar invited his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, to visit Islamabad "at the earliest" for discussions.
On Monday, in a post on X, Pakistan's Foreign Office said Dar and Araghchi discussed regional and international developments, including the situation in Occupied East Jerusalem, during a phone call. The ministry added that Dar extended an invitation for the Iranian Foreign Minister to visit Pakistan.
Pakistan has played an active mediating role in recent US-Iran diplomacy. In June, the United States and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at reducing tensions in West Asia, with Pakistan signing the agreement as a guarantor. Islamabad had earlier hosted peace talks in April and later participated in technical-level negotiations in Switzerland.
However, the negotiations broke down in early July after renewed military strikes, with both Washington and Tehran accusing each other of violating the agreement. The two sides remain divided over the future of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route through which roughly one-fifth of the world's energy supplies pass during normal conditions.
Pakistan's latest diplomatic outreach comes amid renewed uncertainty over US-Iran negotiations. Recently, US President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz could reopen "very soon" but warned that Iran would be "hit very hard" if talks failed. His remarks came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that negotiations had made enough progress for shipments to potentially resume later this week.
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