Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on “all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance” on Sunday after Israel and Iran exchanged fresh strikes, in what observers described as the most serious escalation since the April truce brokered with Islamabad’s mediation, Ada Derana reported, citing CNN.
“The recent surge in violence in the Middle East is a stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to,” Sharif posted on X.
The Prime Minister said Islamabad and partner capitals had been working “earnestly and painstakingly” toward a peaceful diplomatic solution, adding that “the final objective is just about to be achieved” — an apparent reference to ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran aimed at converting the temporary April ceasefire into a durable settlement.
“As we work earnestly and painstakingly, together with our brothers and partners, to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the conflict, and especially when the final objective is just about to be achieved, we sincerely urge all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance,” he wrote.
Sharif added that diplomacy still held “prospects of success instead of violence and destruction.”
Pakistan emerged earlier this year as the principal mediator between the United States and Iran, leading the negotiations that produced the temporary ceasefire announced in early April. It hosted the first round of direct US-Iran talks in Islamabad on April 11–12 and further rounds of mediation since, with army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir making a high-profile visit to Tehran during the negotiations. The mediation track produced a provisional US-Iran outline in late May and saw the Strait of Hormuz formally reopened to merchant transit.
A resumption of Israeli strikes on Iran, with retaliatory Iranian fire, threatens to undo that framework. For Sri Lanka, any breakdown of the ceasefire would carry direct cost-of-living implications through fuel imports and shipping insurance premiums.
