Pakistan won't become part of any war: PM Imran

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to visit Iran, Saudi Arabia, United States and meet with respective foreign ministers, Secretary of State, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

PM Imran in a tweet on Wednesday, said he has also asked Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa “to contact relevant military leaders to convey a clear message: Pakistan is ready to play its role for peace but it can never again be part of any war.”

I have asked FM Qureshi to visit Iran, KSA & USA to meet with respective foreign ministers, Secretary of State; & COAS Gen Bajwa to contact relevant military leaders to convey a clear message: Pakistan is ready to play it’s role for peace but it can never again be part of any war

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) January 8, 2020

Earlier today, Prime Minister Imran Khan had called for immediate measures for de-escalation in the Middle East and Gulf region.

Talking to Oman’s Minister for Endowment and Religious Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Abdullah Assalami in Islamabad on Wednesday, he expressed deep concern over the evolving situation in the region.

The Prime Minister underlined the imperative of avoiding any further escalation.

Stressing that war is in nobody’s interest, he recalled that Pakistan has suffered greatly due to earlier regional conflicts. He made it clear that Pakistan would not be part of any conflict in the region.

Tensions have been escalating between US and Iran after Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, was killed on Friday in a US airstrike on his convoy at Baghdad airport.

Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on US forces in Iraq in the early hours of Wednesday in retaliation for the US drone strike on an Iranian commander whose killing has raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East.

Iran has claimed that at least 80 people were killed in ballistic missiles targeting US military bases in Iraq.