ISLAMABAD, Apr 16: No new date has been decided for holding the second round of talks between the US and Iran, said Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi on Thursday.
“Nuclear issues are among the subjects being discussed by the countries,” he said while responding to a question during his weekly briefing, reports Dawn.
“We will not comment on the positions of Tehran and the parties involved in the negotiations. This is part of the parties’ trust in us,” Andrabi said, urging the media to refrain from speculations, adding that the talks were ongoing with the highest level of confidentiality.
When asked about the delegation for a second round of dialogue, Andrabi dodging the question remarked, “Who will come, how large the delegation will be, who will stay, and who will leave – this is for the parties to decide.”
He added, “The details and information of the negotiations that we had were entrusted to us by the negotiating parties.”
Remarking on the ongoing conflict in Lebanon between Israel, and the country’s Hezbollah militants, he said that peace between the countries was essential for moving forward the talks.
Pakistan, which has emerged as the mediator in the West Asian conflict, has been trying to bring back both Washington and Tehran Iran to the table, following the end of the Islamabad Talks last week, which ended in failure.
As of now, both the country’s civil and military leadership is actively engaging in high level diplomacy in the region, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif having embarked on four-day tour to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and T rkiye while the Pakistan Army’s Chief of Army Staff, and Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir is leading a delegation to Iran.
The two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, brokered on April 8 after over a month of conflict, is set to expire on April 22, which as of now remains in place, though extremely volatile.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that talks between Washington and Tehran could resume over the next two days and that “we’re more inclined to go” to Pakistan, according to The New York Post.
Iran on Wednesday said that exchanges with the US via Pakistan’s facilitation had continued following post the negotiations in the capital, and termed Field Marshal Munir’s visit to Tehran a “continuation of the discussions in Islamabad”.
At the outset of the briefing, the FO spokesperson noted that the negotiation process was intensive, adding that “Through sustained interaction with both Washington and Tehran, Islamabad has sought to encourage dialogue, facilitate the exchange of messages, and help create conditions and space for conducive to meaningful negotiations.”
Speaking about the Islamabad Talks held from April 11-12, he stated: “The talks continued for 21 hours – that is the duration of actual negotiations. Overall, the process continued for about 30 hours if we count movement of delegations and momentary breaks for meals and coffee.
“As such, the entire negotiations process was intensive and extensive, both in terms of scope and timelines.”
(UNI)
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