Iran’s FM arrives in Pakistan, set to visit India amid growing regional standoff
Iran’s foreign minister arrived in the Pakistani capital on Monday for a one-day visit to meet top leaders, officials said, and is expected to visit Delhi later this week, amid rising tension between the two neighbours following an attack on tourists last month in disputed Kashmir, according to Reuters news agency.
It is still not clear if the visits were planned prior to the latest tension.
India has accused Pakistan of involvement in the deadly attack, which Islamabad denies. It says it has “credible intelligence” that India intends to launch military action, fuelling prospects for war between the nuclear-armed rivals.
Pakistan’s foreign office did not explicitly say Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi would discuss the standoff, but Iranian ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam told state media the matter would be on the agenda.
“Given Iran’s close relations with both Pakistan and India, ways of reducing tension in the subcontinent will be among issues … pursued during Araqchi’s meetings,” he added.
India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously ruled out third-party mediation in matters related to Kashmir.
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region claimed by both India and Pakistan has been the focus of several wars and diplomatic stand-offs.
Since the attack, Islamabad has been in touch with a number of capitals regarding the situation, its foreign office said, most recently through a telephone call between Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
“Lavrov expressed concern over the situation and stressed the importance of diplomacy to resolve issues,” the foreign office said in a statement on Sunday, adding that he urged restraint on both sides, asking them to avoid escalation.
Islamabad has also asked its United Nations envoy to seek a meeting of the UN Security Council to brief the body on what it called India’s “aggressive actions” risking peace and security.
As for the U.S., the State Department said it was in touch with the nuclear-armed Asian neighbours at multiple levels, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio held calls on Wednesday with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Top U.S. leaders, including President Donald Trump, have condemned the attack, and expressed support for India without directly blaming Pakistan, while urging both sides to work with each other to de-escalate tensions and arrive at a “responsible solution.”
