Law Minister says politics should be set aside as Pakistan has ties with Iran, defense pact with Saudi
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addresses the Federal Cabinet Special in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 4, 2025. Photo: PID
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited parliamentary and party leaders to an in-camera briefing tomorrow to discuss the escalating regional tensions, especially after the martyrdom of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, it emerged on Tuesday.
Last week, the United States and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran that pushed the Middle East into renewed military confrontation when its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated in the strikes. In response, Iran attacked Israel and US bases in the Middle East.
Addressing the media today, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that the leadership of all political parties were invited for a briefing on national and regional security.
“We have relations with Iran and on the other hand we also have a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia. In this matter politics should be put aside. Tomorrow the Prime Minister will arrange an in-camera briefing for all political leaders,” Tarar said.
Read more: Prime Minister Shehbaz calls for de-escalation and dialogue on the crisis in the Middle East
He added that the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah would issue the invitations to the political leadership and the meeting would be held tomorrow at 11 a.m.
According to state television Radio Pakistan, Tarar said the same during today’s National Assembly session, adding that the current global situation would also be discussed.
The report said the Parliament began with a discussion on the regional situation focusing on the attack on Iran and the loss of its revered leader. It added that lawmakers from various parties condemned the assault and praised Khamenei.
They also expressed solidarity with the people of Iran.
Several parliamentarians including Aniqa Mehdi, Abdul Qadir Patel, Hameed Hussain, Aasia Ishaque Siddiqui, Sehar Kamran, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Syeda Shehla Raza spoke in support of unity among Muslim countries to face common challenges.
“We must create unity in the Ummah to confront the growing threats,” Fazl said.
Middle East crisis
The killing of Khamenei has opened a new chapter of escalation and instability in the Middle East. In the wake of the latest crisis, Pakistan has consistently called for de-escalation. A day earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Ishaq Dar said Pakistan was closely monitoring the regional situation and working to reduce tensions through diplomatic efforts.
Briefing ambassadors from several countries, FM Dar said Pakistan was engaging with regional partners amid what he described as a “fragile and sensitive situation”.
He added that Pakistan was closely monitoring developments in Iran, with all efforts focused on easing tensions, calling the situation “extremely delicate”.
Separately, an attack by two drones earlier today on the US embassy in Riyadh sparked a small fire, a Saudi defense ministry spokesman said in a statement, as Iran pressed for retaliatory strikes across the Gulf.
The Saudi Defense Ministry said it had intercepted more than half a dozen drones near the capital Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj.
“Eight drones were intercepted and destroyed near the cities of Riyadh and Al-Kharj,” Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Turki al-Malki said on X.
Read also: The US and Israel must stop the military action, says a spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
US CENTCOM said in a post on X that US forces have destroyed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facilities, air defenses, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields.
