ISLAMABAD: King Abdullah II of Jordan called Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday and lauded his statesman-type approach towards handling the difficult situation between Pakistan and India, a statement issued by the PM Office said.
The Jordanian king conveyed his concern over the escalating situation between the two countries, resulting from Indian incursions into the Pakistani territory. He also offered Jordan’s mediation to help de-escalate the crisis.
PM Khan briefed King Abdullah about his initiatives to maintain peace between Pakistan and India for the sake of the people of the two countries and the region, the statement said. He reiterated that Kashmir remained the core issue between the two countries that needs to be resolved as per the UN resolutions.
The prime minister stated that his government’s agenda is to promote peace and prosperity for the people of Pakistan through poverty alleviation and social welfare programmes. However, the war hysteria unleashed by India is threatening peace of the region, he added.
Khan thanked King Abdullah for his offer of mediation and invited him to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience, the statement concluded.
Separately, Russian Foreign Minister Viktorovich Lavrov reiterated his offer of mediation and provision of venue for peace talks between India and Pakistan during a telephone call with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday.
Qureshi appreciated Russia’s balanced and constructive role in de-escalation of tensions in the region, said a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
The Russian foreign minister encouraged Pakistan and India to resolve all issues through dialogue and peaceful means. Qureshi welcomed the Russian offer and added that he had also acknowledged Russia’s constructive role at the floor of the parliament earlier in the day, which was well-received. The two foreign ministers agreed to continue consultations for promotion of peace and stability in the region.
Frantic diplomatic efforts involving a number of countries are underway to prevent any further escalation in the crisis between the nuclear-armed Pakistan and India as tensions continued to grip the South Asian region.
The United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), UK and European Union (EU) are also involved in both overt and covert diplomacy to find a way out of the current impasse between the two countries.
US President Donald Trump has also acknowledged his country’s role in cooling down the tense situation between Pakistan and India. On Thursday, he had said the US was ‘involved in trying’ to deescalate the tensions between Pakistan and India and stressed that he had had ‘reasonably attractive news from’ both the countries.
