By Shakir Husain
HYDERABAD, April 9 (Bernama) -- Ceasefire violations undermine the West Asia peace process, Pakistan said as it gets ready to host talks between Iran and the United States over the weekend.
Pakistan brokered a temporary regionwide ceasefire on Tuesday to bring an end to the US-Israeli war against Iran, but the Zionist regime on Wednesday carried out bombings across Lebanon, including the capital Beirut, killing more than 250 people and injuring 1,165.
“Violations of the ceasefire have been reported at a few places across the conflict zone, which undermine the spirit of the peace process. I earnestly and sincerely urge all parties to exercise restraint and respect the ceasefire for two weeks, as agreed upon, so that diplomacy can take a lead role towards peaceful settlement of the conflict," Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X.
US Vice President JD Vance will lead a delegation, which includes special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, to Islamabad on Saturday to discuss a peace agreement with Iran, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
The speaker of Iran's Parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, in a statement on Wednesday, raised the issue of trust in talks with the US due to the ceasefire violations.
"The deep historical distrust we hold toward the United States stems from its repeated violations of all forms of commitments -- a pattern that has regrettably been repeated once again," Ghalibaf said.
"As the President of the United States has clearly stated, the Islamic Republic of Iran's 10-Point Proposal is a 'workable basis on which to negotiate' and the main framework for these talks. However, three clauses on this proposal have already been violated," he added.
Ghalibaf mentioned Israel's continued attacks on Lebanon among the clauses that have been flouted.
Shehbaz's announcement on Tuesday night was for an "immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon."
The Iranian speaker said another ceasefire violation was in the form of a drone intrusion into Iranian airspace, and there was also a denial of Iran's right to conduct uranium enrichment.
"The very 'workable basis on which to negotiate’ has therefore been openly and clearly violated -- even before negotiations have begun," Ghalibaf said.
It is widely feared that the Benjamin Netanyahu regime will try to sabotage the ceasefire agreement through its direct military aggression and by using the Jewish lobby to manipulate US officials.
Iran wants the US to rein in Israel if it hopes to achieve peace.
"The Iran-US ceasefire terms are clear and explicit: the US must choose -- ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X.
"The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the US court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments," he said.
-- BERNAMA
