Pak PM, army chief to visit Saudi, Iran to reduce tensions

President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran will highlight China’s constructive role in promoting peace and stability in the Middle East, Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Ming said on Monday.

On Tuesday Sharif will meet with Iran s President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran.

Reports said that Pakistan will try to mediate between both countries. He said the prime minister has called for the peaceful settlement of differences in the larger interests of Muslim unity.

“The Prime Minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia and Iran is timely and bold initiative that would help ease tension between the two brotherly Muslims countries besides enhancing the image of Pakistan world over”, Rushad Khan, Member Provincial Assembly and leader of PML-N told APP.

The preachers praised Saudi Arabia’s decision to sever its diplomatic relations with Iran following the riots that took place outside the Saudi embassy there after the execution of the Shi’ite preacher, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, and defined it as a “step in the right direction”.

Saudi Arabia and some of its allies have cut off diplomatic ties with Iran, triggering a crisis in the region.

Although, the two countries have been on the opposing sides for a long time, on matters relating to the Middle East or global issues, Riyadh and Tehran have of late become quite aggressive against each other.

Sharif landed in Riyadh two days after a historic worldwide deal lifted sanctions on Iran in return for a scaling back of its nuclear capabilities.

“Xi’s visit in the first year of King Salman’s reign represents vital importance for the two countries as both states are heading to a focal point of their development process” Chengwen said. Yet practically, all of the countries not only condemned the sanguinary execution in Saudi Arabia, they also refused to confront Iran diplomatically.

CNPC, parent of PetroChina, is also restructuring its Middle East operations, aiming to offer more integrated services from exploration to engineering, a company source said.

Diplomats have said it remained unclear how the 34-nation coalition will work in practice. Islamabad also committed intelligence sharing and training but said it was neither sending its troops to Saudi Arabia nor has Riyadh made such a request.