Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday, March 10, as both sides coordinated their response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in West Asia.
During the call, Dar conveyed Pakistan’s perspective and stressed the urgent need to ease tensions in West Asia and the broader region. Wang Yi, in turn, acknowledged Pakistan’s constructive efforts toward promoting de-escalation and stability.
Both ministers emphasised the importance of dialogue and diplomacy, calling for adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter. The Pakistan Foreign Office, in an official statement, said both sides “reaffirmed the enduring strength of the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership, reiterated their shared commitment to further deepening bilateral cooperation, and agreed to remain in close contact.”
The diplomatic exchange came on the same day US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced an escalation in military operations against Iran. “Today will be yet again our most intense day of strikes inside Iran,” Hegseth told reporters at a Pentagon news conference, describing it as the heaviest round of strikes since Washington launched operations ten days ago. General Dan Caine noted, however, that ballistic missile attacks from Iran had trended downward by 90% from their peak, while one-way attack drones had declined by 83% since the start of the operation.
The ongoing conflict has sent global oil prices above $100 per barrel. Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the nation on Monday, March 9, highlighting the deteriorating global situation and urging citizens to conserve fuel. Sharif also unveiled a series of austerity measures aimed at reducing fuel consumption amid soaring energy costs driven by the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Among those measures, the Prime Minister ordered the closure of schools, shifting students to online learning. News agency AFP reported that the transition to remote learning was already underway in Rawalpindi by Tuesday, March 10.
