Pakistan PM seeks two-week extension to Trump’s deadline on Iran
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Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said diplomatic efforts to settle the war peacefully were progressing steadily.
PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan, a mediator between the US and Iran, on April 8 requested that US President Donald Trump grant a two-week extension to a deadline he imposed on Iran to end its blockade of Gulf oil, while US and Israeli strikes on Iran intensified during the sixth week of the war.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran is positively reviewing Pakistan’s request for a two-week ceasefire.
The White House said Mr Trump is aware of Pakistan’s proposal, saying a response will come.
“To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks. Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open (the) Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a post on X.
The war has killed thousands across the region and resulted in the worst-ever energy supply disruption due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the artery used to transit one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas.
Mr Sharif’s comments come after Mr Trump, in a social media post that shocked world leaders, said “a whole civilisation will die tonight”.
Mr Trump has given Iran until 8pm in Washington – 3.30am in Tehran (8am on April 8 Singapore time) – to end its blockade of Gulf oil or see the US destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran.
Mr Sharif urged “all warring parties” to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks “to allow diplomacy to achieve (a) conclusive termination of war”.
He added that diplomatic efforts to settle the war peacefully were “progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in (the) near future”.
During the early hours of April 8 in Pakistan, close to Mr Trump’s deadline, Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar held conversations regarding the conflict in separate calls with his counterparts from Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam called Pakistan’s efforts to stop the US-Israeli war on Iran a step forward from a critical, sensitive stage.
Sources told Reuters on April 7 that talks between the US and Iran were at risk of being derailed following Tehran’s attacks on Saudi Arabian industrial facilities.
Pakistan has been the main go-between for proposals shared by Iran and the US, but there has been no sign of a compromise. REUTERS
