In a recent update amid ongoing tensions and threats between the US and Iran, both countries have agreed to a ceasefire and are ready for peace talks at Pakistan's request as mediator.
Pakistan, on Wednesday, requested that U.S. President Donald Trump grant a two-week ceasefire and extension to a deadline he imposed on Iran to end its blockade of Gulf oil while U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran intensified during the sixth week of the war.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a post on X."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 Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture."
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.
Sharif's comments come after Trump, in a social media post that shocked world leaders, said "a whole civilization will die tonight" if an agreement is not reached to end the conflict.
Previously, Trump has given Iran until 8 p.m. Tuesday EDT (0000 GMT) in Washington—3:30 a.m. on Wednesday in Tehran—to end its blockade of Gulf oil or see the U.S. destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran.
Sharif urged "all warring parties" to observe a ceasefire for two weeks "to allow diplomacy to achieve 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."
Pakistan has been the main intermediary for proposals shared between Iran and the United States, but there has been no sign of a compromise.
As the war situation intensified, talks between the U.S. and Iran were at risk. While close to Trump's deadline, Pakistan held conversations with his counterparts from Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia for resolving conflict.
Additionally, while the U.S. appreciated Pakistan's efforts as mediator, Iran's ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, also called Pakistan's efforts to stop the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran a step forward from a critical, sensitive stage.
