Pakistan Prime Minister Meets Qatar Emir Amid US-Iran Talks Push

Pakistan’s prime minister, the key mediator in the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, met Qatar’s ruler on Thursday during a push by Islamabad for a second round of peace talks between Washington and Tehran.
The Pakistani premier was later due in Turkey, the last stop in a four-day tour which comes on the heels of high-level talks between US and Iranian delegations in Islamabad last weekend.
The talks in Pakistan failed to reach an immediate agreement to permanently end the war in the Middle East following the start of a two-week ceasefire on April 7.
Early in the war, which was sparked in late February by US and Zionist strikes on Iran, Qatar was forced to suspend liquefied natural gas (LNG) production because of Iranian attacks on key energy infrastructure.
The tiny Gulf state, which shares the massive South Pars gas field with Iran, is one of the leading producers of LNG along with the US, Australia and Russia. Qatar is a key supplier to Asian nations including Pakistan.
On Wednesday, the Qatari ruler held a call with US President Donald Trump, in which the pair discussed the impact of the war “on international maritime security and the stability of global energy markets and supply chains”, according to a statement by the emir’s office.
Trump has indicated that a possible second round of peace talks with Iran in Pakistan could resume this week.
Qatar, a key mediator with the US and Egypt in the Gaza war which ended in October, has in recent years played a role mediating with Iran alongside Oman.
However, Doha has repeatedly dismissed the possibility of mediation with Tehran after it came under attack on February 28.




