LAHORE: Three-time former prime minister and PML-N President Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday praised the federal government and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir for their role in the US-Iran mediation efforts.
Addressing a meeting of the PML-N’s parliamentary board for Gilgit-Baltistan, flanked by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, the PML-N president said that the role of DPM Dar and the field marshal is commendable.
“Pakistan’s name has been elevated at the diplomatic level,” said Nawaz.
Pakistan made headlines worldwide after Islamabad brokered a US-Iran ceasefire just hours before US President Donald Trump’s “hell” warning was set to expire on April 8.
The international community breathed a sigh of relief earlier this month after President Trump announced that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran following discussions with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir.
During the last-ditch effort, PM Shehbaz had urged Trump to extend his deadline for two weeks to give diplomacy a chance, which was ultimately accepted by the US president.
Following the Pakistan-brokered Middle East ceasefire, Islamabad hosted rare US-Iran talks earlier this month, marking the first direct contact between the two sides in over a decade. The meeting ended without a deal to halt the Middle East conflict, though no immediate return to hostilities was reported.
The second round of talks between senior US and Iranian officials is expected in Islamabad this week.
Addressing the high-level meeting, Nawaz also praised the Punjab government’s performance and urged other provinces to follow its example.
He also slammed the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government over the “poor law and order situation,” asking: “Is anyone breathing a sigh of relief [there]?”
Lauding development projects in Gilgit-Baltistan, he said that PML-N has played its role in every sector and on every front.