Pakistan not to take sides in US-Iran dispute

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

The Pakistani army on Sunday announced Islamabad would not be part of any campaign that disturbs regional peace, referring to an ongoing dispute between the U.S. and Iran, local media reported.

The statement came two days after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa over the phone.

"In this scenario, prime minister [Imran Khan] and the army chief have adopted a very clear stance that Pakistan will not allow its soil to be used against anyone and play its strong role for regional peace," army spokesman General Asif Ghafoor, told local broadcaster ARY News.

Referring to the killing of senior Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. air strike in Iraq, Ghafoor said the regional scenario had changed and that his country would not compromise on its national security.

He rejected social media "propaganda" that Pakistan would stand with Washington against Tehran.

"We paid huge sacrifices for the restoration of peace in our country and we will not become part of any process that disturb the peace in the region," Ghafoor asserted.

Pakistan will oppose any action that damages the ongoing reconciliation peace process in Afghanistan as the region is making progress towards peace, he added.

Soleimani, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds force, was killed in a U.S. drone airstrike in Iraq on Friday.

His death marked a dramatic escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have often been at a fever pitch since Trump chose in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw Washington from a 2015 nuclear pact world powers struck with Tehran.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who gave Soleimani the country's highest honor last year, vowed "severe retaliation" in response to his killing.

The Pentagon accused Soleimani of plotting the embassy attack and planning to carry out additional attacks on U.S. diplomats and service members in Iraq and the region.