Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani landed in Islamabad on Thursday morning to review bilateral ties and regional developments with the Pakistani leadership, marking the first visit by the country’s top diplomat to Pakistan in 19 years. Al-Shaibani arrived in Islamabad heading a high-level delegation of Syrian officials. His visit takes place amid heightened tensions in the region due to the United States (US) and Iran war.

“During the visit, the two sides will hold in-depth discussions across the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, review avenues for further enhancing bilateral cooperation, and exchange views on regional and international developments,” state broadcaster reported. The state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the visit is the first by a Syrian foreign minister to Pakistan in 19 years, underscoring the importance of “developing bilateral relations and boosting communication” between the two countries.

Regional tensions remain high as Iran’s armed forces warned Gulf countries against assisting the US military on Wednesday, saying it would be tantamount to joining American military operations. “We wish to warn that any assistance or facilitation provided to the aggressor US military amounts to participation in the US military operation,” Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi said, according to the country’s Mehr news agency.

The US-Iran war, which broke out in February after Israel and the US launched joint attacks against Iran, has driven global oil prices higher and created inflationary pressures worldwide. Pakistan has played a leading diplomatic role between Washington and Tehran since the conflict began, relaying messages and peace proposals between the two.

Pakistan helped broker a ceasefire between the US and Iran in April and also negotiated an interim peace deal in June. However, tensions rose again after the US attacked Iran in July, blaming it for violating the peace deal by attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran denied the allegations and launched attacks against US military bases in the Gulf region in response.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)