Iran's Foreign Minister Lands in Islamabad as India-Pakistan Tensions Rise

ISLAMABAD (The News Pulse) - Iran's foreign minister arrived in the Pakistani capital on Monday for a one-day visit to meet top leaders, officials said, amid rising tension with neighbouring India following an attack on tourists last month in disputed Kashmir.

India has accused Pakistan of involvement in the deadly attack, which Islamabad denies. It says it has "credible intelligence" that India intends to launch military action, fuelling prospects for war between the nuclear-armed rivals.

Pakistan's foreign office did not explicitly say Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi would discuss the standoff, but Iranian ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam told state media the matter would be on the agenda.

"Given Iran's close relations with both Pakistan and India, ways of reducing tension in the subcontinent will be among issues ... pursued during Araqchi's meetings," he added.

Araqchi, who will be in Islamabad for a day, is expected to visit Delhi later this week. It was not immediately clear if the visits were planned prior to the latest tension.

"The two sides will also exchange views on regional and global developments," Pakistan's foreign office said in a statement flagging the meetings.

India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously ruled out third-party mediation in matters related to Kashmir.

The Muslim-majority Himalayan region claimed by both India and Pakistan has been the focus of several wars and diplomatic stand-offs.

Following the assault, Islamabad has maintained communication with several capital cities concerning the circumstances, according to their foreign office. Most recently, this was done via a phone conversation between Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

The foreign ministry stated that Lavrov voiced his concerns about the circumstances and highlighted the significance of diplomatic efforts to address problems. He also called for calm from all parties involved, urging them to prevent any rise in tensions.

Islamabad has instructed its U.N. representative to request an emergency session of the UN Security Council to inform them about what it described as India's "provocative moves," which pose a threat to regional stability and peace.

(Reported by Gibran Peshimam and the Dubai newsroom; Extra reporting provided by Shivam Patel in New Delhi; Edited by Clarence Fernandez)