Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is presiding over an important National Security Committee (NSC) meeting to mull over growing tension in the Middle East, sources said on Monday.
The chiefs of armed forces, important federal ministers and senior officials belonging to the national defence and diplomacy are also attending the high-level meeting, the sources added.
The sources said the meeting’s primary agenda is to review the implications of the ongoing Israel-Iran war, particularly how it may affect the broader region.
The discussion is expected to cover the recent United States missile and bunker-buster attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities and the escalating conflict’s potential consequences for regional peace and stability.
The session comes as the United States has entered the Middle East conflict by launching direct strikes on Iran.
The Donald Trump administration used bunker-buster bombs and missiles to target three nuclear facilities located in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan in Iran.
Pakistan, in response, condemned the strikes ordered on Iran by US President Trump, saying the decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities violated international law and that diplomacy was the only way to resolve the crisis.
“The unprecedented escalation of tension and violence, owing to ongoing aggression against Iran is deeply disturbing. Any further escalation of tensions will have severely damaging implications for the region and beyond,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The NSC huddle comes hours after Pakistan joined China and Russia in circulating a draft resolution calling for an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” during a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting.
The resolution urges “all parties to refrain from further escalation; demands the urgent protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure; and supports a diplomatic path forward on the Iranian nuclear issue that is acceptable to all parties”.
Speaking at the UNSC huddle, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Asim Iftikhar urged the key UN body to “promote urgent recourse to dialogue and diplomacy” and urged all parties to adhere fully to the international law in order to find a peaceful and lasting resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue.
