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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is visiting Iran today, Monday, after a visit to Turkiye as part of a regional diplomacy tour following Pakistan’s worst military standoff with nuclear-armed neighbor India. 

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi called for restraint between India and Pakistan and visited both nations following India’s first strikes on Pakistan on May 7, when New Delhi said it had hit “terrorist infrastructure.” Pakistan retaliated, saying it had downed six Indian fighter jets. 

The conflict went on for nearly four days, with the two nations launching missiles and drones deep into each other’s territories and exchanging gunfire on their de facto border, the Line of Control, until a ceasefire was announced on May 10. India said its assault was in response to a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that it accused Islamabad of being behind — a charge it denies. 

On Sunday, Sharif reached Turkiye as the first stop in a diplomacy tour to nations that were either supportive of Islamabad during the latest crisis with India, or that helped mediate the conflict. 

“The purpose of the Prime Minister’s visit was to thank the people of Turkiye, and especially President Tayyip Erdogan, for their full cooperation and support in the recent Pakistan-India crisis,” Sharif’s office said in a statement. 

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has now left for Tehran, Iran, where he will hold meetings with the Iranian top leadership.”

Sharif will also be visiting Azerbaijan and Tajikistan as part of the five-day tour.

Erdogan spoke by phone with Sharif on May 7 to convey his solidarity after India first hit Pakistan and Azad Kashmir with missiles. Leaders from the two nations had several contacts subsequently and it is widely believed that Turkiye played an important role, besides the US, UAE and ��������, in convincing India and Pakistan to back off and agree to a ceasefire. The two nations have strong ties, both being largely Muslim countries and sharing historical links.

Iran’s leadership also offered to mediate the conflict and there were several contacts between its foreign minister and the Pakistani PM and other leaders. 

The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir is claimed by both India and Pakistan and has been the focus of several wars and diplomatic stand-offs.

ISLAMABAD: More rain, wind and thunderstorms are expected in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces as well as the federal capital of Islamabad from May 27 till May 31, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Monday, two days after a thunderstorm coupled with heavy rain killed 18 people.

Moist currents are continuously penetrating upper and central parts of the country and under the influence of this weather system, isolated heavy rains and hailstorms are expected in Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree, Galliyat, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mianwali, Sargodha, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot, Narowal, Okara, Lahore, Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sheikhupura.

In KP, rains and thunderstorms are likely to hit Chitral, Dir, Swat, Malakand, Mansehra, Battagram, Shangla, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Haripur, Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Kohat, Karak and Waziristan with occasional gaps during the forecast period.

“Windstorm/dust-thunderstorm/hailstorm and lightning may damage loose structures like electric poles, trees, vehicles and solar panels etc in upper/central parts including Islamabad,” the PMD warned in its advisory.

“Farmers are advised to manage their crop activities keeping in view the weather conditions. General public, travelers and tourists are advised to take precautionary measures during the weather activity.”

Similarly, windstorm with light-to-moderate rain-thunder is expected in Zhob, Ziarat, Barkhan, D.G. Khan, Rajanpur, Multan, Bhakkar, Layyah, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Pakpattan, Vehari and D.I. Khan on between May 27 and May 30.

The advisory came two days after 18 people died in storm-related incidents in the country’s most populous Punjab province, where Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal, Mianwali, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Lahore, Narowal and adjoining regions were the most affected.

“When we included the losses of Jhang and two districts more, unfortunately 18 precious lives have been lost and 110 people were injured in Punjab,” Irfan Ali Kathia, head of the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority Punjab, said in televised comments on Monday.

Last week, a child was killed and 11 people were injured as a thunderstorm hit upper parts of Pakistan, rescue officials said. In April, an intense hailstorm battered Pakistan’s capital and its surrounding areas. Several vehicles were damaged and house windows smashed as hailstones rained down from the sky on April 16.

Pakistan has seen erratic changes in its weather patterns which have led to frequent heat waves, untimely rains, storms, cyclones and droughts in recent years. Scientists have blamed the events on human-driven climate change.

In 2022, devastating floods, blamed on human-driven climate change, killed more than 1,700 Pakistanis, affected another 33 million and caused the country over $30 billion in economic losses.