Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake official visits to Iran and Türkiye from July 3 to July 5.
Speaking at a weekly media briefing on Thursday, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the PM will first travel to Iran, where he will attend the funeral ceremony of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Accompanying him on the visit will be Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, along with cabinet ministers and senior government officials.
During the visit, PM Shehbaz will convey condolences on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan to Iran’s leadership and the bereaved families, while reaffirming Pakistan’s support and solidarity with the Iranian nation during this difficult period.
Following the Iran visit, the PM will head to Istanbul at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Andrabi said the leadership meeting in Türkiye will focus on strengthening bilateral ties, with particular emphasis on expanding cooperation in trade and investment between the two countries. Discussions will also cover matters related to regional peace and security.
As part of his engagements in Türkiye, the PM will address a business conference organised by Pakistan to showcase the country’s investment opportunities in priority sectors such as special economic zones (SEZs), energy, trade, information technology, and privatisation. The event is expected to attract prominent Turkish investors, senior officials, and business leaders.
The FO spokesperson said the PM’s visits underscore Pakistan’s longstanding historical, cultural, and brotherly relations with both Iran and Türkiye.
He said Pakistan has intensified diplomatic outreach with regional and global stakeholders, as well as key interlocutors, to support implementation of the Islamabad MoU, signed by the US and Iran on June 18.
He added that Pakistan would continue working alongside Qatar in a facilitative and mediatory capacity throughout the negotiation process. Andrabi also said Ishaq Dar has remained actively engaged in high-level diplomatic consultations with several foreign counterparts in recent days.
Addressing tensions with India over the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), Andrabi accused India of treating the Indus river system as a strategic resource that could be manipulated for political leverage.
Pakistan, he said, firmly rejects India’s attempt to use terrorism allegations as justification for suspending the treaty and obstructing Pakistan’s rightful share of river waters. He argued that the issue goes beyond terrorism and reflects a growing tendency within India’s leadership to view shared international water resources as assets that can be controlled or diverted unilaterally.
He stressed that such an approach violates both the spirit and legal framework of the Indus Waters Treaty as well as broader international law. Water, he emphasised, cannot be used as a means of coercion or political pressure, warning that denying Pakistan its rightful share would breach India’s international obligations and damage its credibility regarding treaty commitments.
Referring to the “International Seminar on Indus Waters Treaty: An Instrument of Peace and Regional Stability” held in Islamabad on Tuesday, Andrabi said participants strongly supported preserving the treaty and condemned the weaponisation of water resources.
