Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday described the mediation process between warring United States and Iran as a ‘very difficult’ and ‘complicated’ task. He hoped for a peace between the two sides which had been in a state of perpetual war for nearly four months before Washington and Tehran signed an interim peace deal, the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.
“It has been a great honour to play the role of mediator to bring truce between the US and Iran. It was a very novel undertaking, but also a very difficult and complicated task,” Sharif said during an interview with Turkey’s state media TRT in Istanbul. Track updates on Khamenei funeral in Iran
Sharif embarked on his official Turkey tour on Friday after attending slain Iran leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral in Tehran. Sharif recalled Khamenei’s contributions for Islam and “paid rich tribute” to Ayatollah, who guided the Iranian nation for decades, with remarkable wisdom and sagacity, his office said in a statement.
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We were honest and sincere, says Sharif
On Pakistan’s role as mediator between Iran and the US, Sharif told TRT that it had to be honest and sincere with Iran and US as the former is a ‘brotherly and neighbourly’ nation for Pakistan.
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He also heaped praises on Pakistan army chief Asim Munir for his ‘pivotal role’ in the mediation process. “He was in touch with Iran and the US. He worked through the nights burning his midnight oil and untiringly,” Sharif said about Munir.
Sharif also acknowledged that there were moments when the truce looked like an impossible task. “There were moments when it felt like everything will fall through. But we did not lose hope and remained consistent,” he said, as he also praised Pakistan’s deputy PM Ishaq Dar in the mediation process.
Pakistan played a central role, along with efforts from Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, in mediation between Iran and the US and brought the two sides to sign a war-ending interim peace deal. The deal paved way for talks to end the skirmishes between Iran and the US that set off a regionwide war on February 28.
The two sides signed an agreement only on June 17, after much back and forth on the clauses of the deal.
