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ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed regret on Tuesday that an attack by Israel on Iran set out events that \u201cseverely damaged the peace process\u201d at a time when Washington and Tehran were close to coming to the table.<\/p>\n
His statement in the Senate came ahead of an 8pm ET deadline for April 8 that US President Donald Trump has given to Iran to enter a ceasefire agreement with Washington. Trump has warned of wider bombing on power plants and other critical infrastructure otherwise.<\/p>\n
Pakistan has positioned itself as a facilitator in the peace process between the two sides, leveraging its ties with the US and its working relationship with Iran.<\/p>\n
Addressing the Senate, Dar said Pakistan had been playing a proactive diplomatic role to reduce tensions, but recent developments had dealt a severe blow to peace efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust as both parties were close to sitting at the negotiating table, Israel attacked Iran, which led Iran to target oil installations in Saudi Arabia\u2019s Jubail city. This situation has severely damaged the peace process\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Israel attacked<\/a> Iran\u2019s petrochemical facilities, following which Iran claimed an overnight attack<\/a> on a petrochemical complex in a sprawling industrial area in the eastern city of Jubail.<\/p>\n Dar said he was \u201cvery optimistic\u201d before last night, but recent \u201cdangerous developments have once again made the situation tense\u201d.<\/p>\n He highlighted that Pakistan was one of the first among Muslim countries to have openly condemned US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began the ongoing conflict.<\/p>\n He said when the US attacked Iran, he was in Saudi Arabia and contacted the Iranian foreign minister from Madina at the time to convey Pakistan\u2019s stance.<\/p>\n Dar said Pakistan then decided to \u201cimmediately contact all important countries\u201d in the region and played a facilitating role for a halt to hostilities.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth parties accepted Pakistan\u2019s mediation and agreed to talks in Islamabad. Pakistan does not desire any medal or credit, but the goal was to establish peace in the region,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir made \u201ctremendous efforts\u201d for de-escalation while he, too, played a role on this front.<\/p>\n Pakistan conveyed Washington\u2019s 15-point proposal<\/a> to Iran for an end to hostilities in March, he said, adding that he also conveyed Iran\u2019s five-point proposal<\/a> in return to the US.<\/p>\n These efforts, he said, \u201cled to a ceasefire possibility\u201d.<\/p>\n Both parties were close to coming to the table, but Israel attacked Iran, and Iran targeted Saudi Arabia\u2019s oil installations in retaliation, \u201cwhich severely damaged the peace process\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n He said Pakistan had also consulted China and other countries on the peace initiative, and the international community, including the United Nations secretary general, appreciated Pakistan\u2019s role.<\/p>\n Dar said, \u201cPakistan will continue efforts to establish peace in the region, fulfilling its responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n