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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Pakistan FM to visit Iran, Saudi in bid to defuse tensions

Pakistan FM to visit Iran, Saudi in bid to defuse tensions

Published Jan 12, 2020 12:00 am
By Agence France-Presse ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's foreign minister is visiting Tehran on Sunday in a bid to defuse rising tensions in the region after the killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike. Coffins of Gen. Qassem Soleimani and others who were killed in Iraq by a U.S. drone strike, are carried on a truck surrounded by mourners during a funeral procession at the Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. The processions mark the first time Iran honored a single man with a multi-city ceremony. Not even Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic, received such a processional with his death in 1989. Soleimani on Monday will lie in state at Tehran's famed Musalla mosque as the revolutionary leader did before him. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi/MANILA BULLETIN) Coffins of Gen. Qassem Soleimani and others who were killed in Iraq by a U.S. drone strike, are carried on a truck surrounded by mourners during a funeral procession at the Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. The processions mark the first time Iran honored a single man with a multi-city ceremony. Not even Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic, received such a processional with his death in 1989. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi/MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) For decades Pakistan tried to balance its strong relationship with Saudi Arabia and ties with Iran, with whom it shares a near 1,000-kilometer (625-mile) border. Sunday's visit comes as tensions mount across the Middle East following the 62-year-old general's death in Iraq, and Iran's admission that it shot down an airliner by mistake, killing 176 people on board. "Recent developments seriously endanger peace and security in an already volatile region and underscore the need for immediate and collective efforts for a peaceful resolution," Pakistan's foreign office said in a statement. Shah Mehmood Qureshi will convey to Iran "Pakistan's readiness to support all efforts that facilitate resolution of differences and disputes through political and diplomatic means", it said. After meeting his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, Qureshi will visit Saudi Arabia on January 13 to hold talks with Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan. The minister will also visit the US after concluding his visit to Tehran and Riyadh, a source in Pakistan's foreign office confirmed. Last year Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan travelled between Saudi Arabia and Iran in a bid to calm relations between the rivals. Pakistan has good relations with Saudi Arabia, with more than 2.5 million of its nationals living and working in the kingdom, but it also maintains close ties with Iran and represents Tehran's consular interests in the United States.
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