ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday urged global powers to broker a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, as Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar prepares to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The meeting in Turkiye from June 21-22 is expected to focus on coordinated diplomatic steps to de-escalate the Iran-Israel standoff and address the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Thousands of people were fleeing Tehran on Wednesday after Israeli warplanes bombed the city overnight and the air fight between the two Middle Eastern powers entered the sixth day amid media reports US President Donald Trump was considering options that include joining Israel in attacking Iranian nuclear sites.

“I feel that ... global countries should try hard for a ceasefire,” Sharif told a federal cabinet meeting, calling the escalation “regrettable” and condemning what he described as Israel’s aggression against Pakistan’s neighboring “brotherly” country of Iran. 

Iran launched retaliatory strikes last week after Israeli forces attacked sites linked to Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure on June 13. Iranian officials say at least 224 people, mostly civilians, have been killed, while Israel has reported over 20 deaths.

The latest escalation follows months of hostilities between Israel and Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, which intensified after the war in Gaza was launched late in 2023. Regional powers fear a direct confrontation could spiral into a broader conflict involving major oil shipping lanes and global energy supplies.

For Pakistan, a close Iranian neighbor and a longtime opponent of Israel, a prolonged conflict risks disrupting border security, inflaming sectarian tensions at home, and possibly putting it in a tight spot with other Arab allies and the West.

Pakistan does not recognize Israel and has historically aligned itself with the Palestinian cause of an independent state. 

QUETTA: Pakistani officials say hundreds of students and pilgrims, who were evacuated after Israeli strikes on Iran, will be transported to their homes across Pakistan today, Wednesday, after they were brought a day earlier to Quetta, the capital of the southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Iran.

Commissioner of Quetta, Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat, said 545 pilgrims and 207 students reached Quetta from Pakistan’s Taftan border crossing with Iran and arrangements had been made to transport them to their hometowns.

“We are trying to make them stay in Quetta tonight. There are some restrictions on movement at night from Quetta,” Shafqaat told Reuters.

“There are law and order issues on roads at some places. We want to avoid any unfortunate or untoward incidents.”

Musharraf Abbas, who arrived from Tehran, said he was a student at the Iran University of Medical Sciences. 

“Their [Iran’s] military residences and rooms were at about one-and-a-half-kilometer distance from our residence,” he told Reuters. 

“They were attacked on late Friday night around 330pm in which their high level personnel, including scientists, revolutionary guards and military leaders were killed.”

Pakistan closed its border crossings with Iran at Panjgur in Balochistan province indefinitely due to escalating tensions, the district administration of Panjgur announced on Sunday, June 15. However, one of the busiest crossings at the Taftan border remains operational for repatriation and trade activity.

A group of 214 Pakistani students studying in medical and engineering institutions in Iran arrived at Pakistan’s Taftan border crossing from Tehran following Israeli airstrikes, officials said on Tuesday.

Iran and Israel launched new missile strikes at each other on Wednesday as the air war between the two longtime enemies entered a sixth day despite a call from US President Donald Trump for Tehran’s unconditional surrender.