Can Pakistan's Imran Khan mediate between Iran and

Saudi Arabia?
dw.com/en/can-pakistans-imran-khan-mediate-between-iran-and-saudi-arabia/a-50813144

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan held talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in
Tehran on Sunday. He was also scheduled to meet with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei and other high-ranking Iranian officials.

The purpose of his Iran visit, according to Pakistan's government, is to "promote peace
and security in the region."

It is Khan's second visit to Iran this year.

"I told Prime Minster Imran [Khan] we welcome any gesture by Pakistan for peace in the
region and appreciate his visit to our country," said Rouhani at a joint press conference
with the Pakistani premier.

Rouhani said that among other things, they also discussed the Yemen war and the US
sanctions on Iran.

"Regional issues have to be resolved through regional means and dialogue. We also
emphasized that any goodwill gesture will be reciprocated with a goodwill gesture and
good words," said the Iranian president.

Watch video 02:28

Pakistani foreign minister: 'Islamabad wants reduction in

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Pakistani foreign minister: 'Islamabad wants reduction in
US-Iran tensions'
Pakistan's own worries

Khan was also expected to visit Saudi Arabia, Pakistan's main ally in the Middle East, after
concluding his Iran trip.

During his visit to the US last month, Khan said that President Donald Trump had asked
him to "mediate" between its ally Saudi Arabia and Tehran. The US leader, however,
refuted Khan's claim.

Read more: Convincing Trump on Kashmir — Pakistani PM Khan's toughest diplomatic

test

Nonetheless, Islamabad is stepping up efforts to defuse tensions between the Gulf

neighbors as it fears that a possible US-backed war with Iran would spill over into
Pakistan, unleashing sectarian violence between the country's majority Sunni
and minority Shiite populations and devastating its already frail economy due to a
potential oil crisis.

Read more: US to send troops, missile defense system to Saudi Arabia after drone attack

"Pakistan attaches high importance to bilateral ties with Iran," Khan was quoted as saying
by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) party. "Pakistan is willing to play
its role towards strengthening peace and stability in the region."

Pakistan attaches high importance to bilateral ties with Iran. Pakistan is willing to play its
role towards strengthening peace and stability in the region :: @ImranKhanPTI

Foreign Minister @SMQureshiPTI , SAPM @sayedzbukhari and senior officials were

also present

— PTI (@PTIofficial) October 13, 2019

Militant activities

For years, ties between Iran and Pakistan have remained tense due to a deep mutual
mistrust. Pakistan has generally tried to maintain close ties with both Saudi Arabia and
Iran — bitter regional foes — but has drifted away from Tehran in the past few years.

Both Islamabad and Tehran accuse each other of backing separatist groups, which are
active in Pakistan's and Iran's Baluchistan provinces and seek independence from both
countries.

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In March, President Rouhani demanded Pakistan act decisively against anti-Iranian
terrorists, following a February attack that killed 27 members of the elite Revolutionary
Guard in Sistan-Baluchistan. Iran claimed that a Pakistani suicide bomber was behind
the attack, which was claimed by the Sunni jihadi group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice),
which Tehran says operates mostly out of Pakistan.

Read more: Why did US declare an anti-Iran militant group terrorist?

Shiite-majority Iran is wary of Islamabad's alleged support for various Sunni militant
groups, which have been involved in launching attacks in Iran's eastern areas, and
massacring Shiite citizens inside Pakistan.

Watch video 01:35

US blames Iran for Saudi oil plant attack

The sectarian strife in Pakistan has been ongoing for some time now, with militant
Islamist groups unleashing terror on the minority Shiite groups in many parts of the
country. Most of these outfits, including the Taliban, take inspiration from the hard-line
Saudi-Wahabi Islamic ideology.

'Solidly allied with Riyadh'

Iran is also angered by Pakistan's role in the Saudi-led military alliance that is operating
against Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Read more: Pakistan's Yemen dilemma: Being neutral is not an option

"It is obvious that the Pakistani-Iranian ties have not been cordial for quite some time.
However, if the Pakistani government gives more importance to Saudi Arabia in the
Yemen conflict, the relations will likely get acrimonious," said Tariq Peerzada, a foreign
affairs expert in Islamabad.

Read more: Examining Saudi-Pakistani ties in changing geopolitics

Islamabad's over-enthusiasm to please Riyadh could further exacerbate its relations with
Tehran. Security analysts say that Pakistan's support for Saudi Arabia has increased the
Sunni-Shiite rift in the South Asian country. They also say that Sunni militant groups feel
further emboldened by the fact that Raheel Sharif, Pakistan's ex-army chief, now heads
the Saudi-led military alliance.

Tehran is aware of Islamabad's cooperation with Riyadh. At the same time, it is aware of
the concerns and limitations of its ties with Pakistan and wants to maintain "normal"
relations with the neighboring country.

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"Pakistan remains solidly allied with Saudi Arabia, regardless of how intense the
outreach may be from Tehran. There are decades of close military cooperation that are
not about to be undone," said Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the Washington-
based Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars.

It remains to be seen whether Pakistani leader Khan can convince Iranian authorities that
his country would not undermine Tehran's interests in the region. But experts say that
since Pakistan is already part of the Saudi security alliance and has not done enough to
allay Iran's concerns about its alleged role in backing anti-Iran militants on its soil, Khan's
diplomatic efforts in Tehran are unlikely to yield results.

Pakistan has offered complete support to Saudi Arabia in regional conflicts

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