Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a 45-minute telephone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday, reaffirming Islamabad’s commitment to advancing regional peace as a US delegation prepared to arrive in Pakistan for a second round of direct talks with Tehran.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the leaders held a “warm and cordial” conversation that included “detailed exchanges on the current regional situation.” Shehbaz conveyed his “respectful regards” to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
The call came hours after President Donald Trump confirmed that American envoys would travel to Islamabad on Monday evening, one day before the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire expires on April 22. The first round of direct US-Iran talks on April 11 and 12 ended without a deal but also without a breakdown.
Shehbaz thanked Tehran for dispatching Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to the first round. He also briefed Pezeshkian on his recent consultations with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Türkiye, which he said were “most helpful in building consensus in support of a sustained process of dialogue and diplomacy.”
The Pakistani premier further acknowledged “constructive conversations” Iranian leaders held with Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir during his visit to Tehran this week.
Pezeshkian thanked the prime minister and the field marshal for Pakistan’s mediation and said Iran-Pakistan relations would continue to strengthen.
Earlier on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke with Araghchi, emphasising the need for continued dialogue to resolve the crisis. The outreach comes as Iranian state media has signalled Tehran will reject the second round of talks, citing the US blockade and the seizure of an Iranian cargo ship over the weekend.
