Pakistan denies reports regarding troops deployment in Qatar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday denied reports published in foreign media regarding deployment of troops in Qatar saying these were "completely fabricated and baseless".

Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria stressed that "these false reports appear to be part of a malicious campaign aimed at creating misunderstanding between Pakistan and brotherly Muslim countries in the Gulf.

In a surprise and coordinated move last Monday, several Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE, severed all diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the former of sponsoring terrorism in the region.

Pakistan’s offer for mediation

Couple of days later on Wednesday, a delegation of Qatari royal family members arrived in Lahore, sources told The News. However, the nature of the Qatari delegation’s visit was unknown.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, while talking to the media on way to Astana to attend SCO Summit, assured that Pakistan would do all it could to amicably resolve the crisis through diplomacy. He reminded that Pakistan enjoyed itself good relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar, and would try its best to resolve the differences among the Arab countries. He impressed upon the Muslim world to play its role in ending the crisis.

The prime minister has planned to visit Saudi Arabia on June 22 and before that he would also dash to Kuwait and Qatar as part of his reconciliation efforts.