Qureshi to visit Iran, Saudi, US in bid to defuse tensions

Islamabad, Jan 11 (IANS) Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is scheduled begin his three-nation trip to Iran, Saudi Arabia and the US on Sunday, aimed at offering Islamabad's held in defusing the ongoing tensions in the Persian Gulf.

He will first arrive in Tehran on Sunday, after which Qureshi will visit Riyadh on January 13 and then travel to Washington on January 17, Dawn news quoted a senior diplomatic source as saying here on Saturday.

The Minister will hold talks with his counterparts in the three countries to convey Pakistan's desire to help in de-escalating the situation.

Qureshi has made a number of telephonic contacts with his counterparts over the situation. He also spoke to the Russian and Iraqi Foreign Ministers.

Since the tensions escalated after the killing of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani in a US drone attack on January 3 in Baghdad, Pakistan has reaffirmed its resolve not to become a part of any conflict in the region, while renewing its offer to mediating in the Middle East crisis, Dawn news reported.

While briefing the Senate on Monday, Qureshi made it clear that Pakistan would not become party to the ongoing conflict, adding that Islamabad's "soil will not be used against any other state".

On Thursday, Prime Minister Imran Khan reiterated that Islamabad would not become part of anyone else's war but would try to resolve differences between warring states, adding that Pakistan would try its best to resolve confrontation between Iran and Saudi Arabia as well as between Tehran and Washington.