RI-Pakistan Moves, Prabowo Ready to Visit Iran to De-escalate

President Prabowo with Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad, (doc Setneg)

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto and Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif discussed over the phone their plans to go to Tehran, Iran, to help defuse the current escalation in the Gulf countries, the Middle East.

President Prabowo shared the contents of his conversation with PM Sharif in a meeting with kiai, ulama, and Muslim scholars at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Thursday, March 5.

"He (President Prabowo, ed.) told me before this meeting, there was a phone call with the Prime Minister of Pakistan," said Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Indonesian Muslim Intellectual Association (ICMI) Jimly Asshiddiqie when he was met after a meeting with President Prabowo at the Palace, Thursday evening.

"And I am grateful to President (Prabowo), the Prime Minister of Pakistan is willing to visit Tehran together with President Prabowo. That was explained earlier by the President," continued Jimly.

Jimly then conveyed to the ulama and kiai, President Prabowo explained that the intention for mediation was more towards calming the escalation that is currently occurring in the Gulf countries, especially after the US military and Israel attacked Iran unilaterally last week.

"So, it's not negotiating, it's becoming a mediator between what and not just in the sense of negotiations or mediation between Israel and Iran, not like that. This is a person (the highest, ed.) who has been killed, yes, the Ayatollah has been killed, the time to offer peace, not in that context, but this is to prevent escalation," said Jimly explaining.

According to Jimly, President Prabowo's intention to dampen the escalation was welcomed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

"So, it's not just Indonesia. It means, what President Prabowo thinks is supported by the Prime Minister of Pakistan. [...] Well they (the plan, ed.) will both go to Tehran," said Jimly.

"Imagine, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia, of these four are the largest Muslim nations, the largest so far is still Indonesia and Pakistan which are non-Arab. Well, while the Arabs have many problems, one internal conflict among themselves, then there are five what is the name of the US military base in five countries (Gulf, ed.). So, politically, they are involved in the conflict between Israel, America versus (Iran, ed.). Well, so, the role of Indonesia, Pakistan as the largest Muslim-populated country is very important to invite peace, although the chances are small, but (worth) trying," he continued.

Jimly assessed that President Prabowo's initiative also received a lot of support from Muslim figures who attended the meeting at the Palace on Thursday night.

On a separate occasion, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the contents of his conversation with President Prabowo. The Pakistani PM called his telephone conversation with President Prabowo "very productive".

"We exchanged views on our deep concerns about the situation in the Middle East, and we agreed that it was necessary for each party to refrain from renewing diplomacy in order to prevent further escalation. We also discussed the latest developments in Afghanistan, and agreed to remain in close contact in the coming days to jointly realize peace and stability in the region," said Prime Minister Sharif in his official statement.