Mediatory mission: PM, army chief to visit S Arabia, Iran

Pakistan likely to act as messenger of peace

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and army chief General Raheel Sharif will leave for Saudi Arabia and Iran on Monday to try and defuse tensions between the two regional countries.

Riyadh and Tehran have been engaged in a verbal duel since the execution of a top Shia cleric Nimr al Nimr and subsequent arson attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran. Saudi Arabia and some of its allies have cut off ties with Iran, triggering a diplomatic row in the region.



Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, along with army chief Gen Raheel Sharif, will embark on an important visit to Saudi Arabia and Iran on Monday to patch up differences between the two countries, his office said in a brief statement issued on Saturday. The prime minister will visit Riyadh on Monday and then Tehran on Tuesday.

“The main objective of the visit is reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia through Pakistan’s active role,” an official said. Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz and Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi will also accompany him.

Sources said the civil and military leaders would meet Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani.

Mandate of the visit

The Pakistani leaders are undertaking the visit on the request of Riyadh and will convey Saudi reconciliatory message to Iranian rulers, official sources said. Saudi foreign and defence ministers recently visited Pakistan and met with the prime minister as well as the army chief. They finalised the idea of Pakistan’s leadership visiting Iran.

Sources said the main objective of the visit would be to convince both countries to reopen each other’s embassies, which have been shut down since the execution of the Shia cleric. The Pakistani leaders will try to convince both sides to start negotiations to resolve their issues. They would encourage Tehran and Riyadh to discuss their problems at the Organisation of Islamic Countries forum instead of relying on proxies.



Saudi irritants

The Saudis want Pakistan to convince Iran to support the kingdom in stopping the Islamic State group from spreading out of Syria to other Gulf countries, sources said.

Iran has not been included in the 34-state military alliance formed by the Saudis against IS, which is also known by its Arabic acronym of Da’ish.

Riyadh, sources said, was interested in including Iran in the alliance if it gave a solemn pledge to play its role in stemming the spread of Da’ish in Syria instead of promoting them against Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia. The Saudis also want Pakistan to convince Iran to end its influence in Shia-majority areas inside the kingdom.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2016.