ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Imran Khan has welcomed the conclusion of the landmark Riyadh Agreement as a result of the initiative taken by the Saudi leadership and supported by UAE government. Prime Minister Imran Khan in a tweet on Wednesday said that it is a crucial and important step forward towards a political solution and durable peace and security in Yemen. “We believe it is a crucial and important step forward towards a political solution and durable peace & security in Yemen,” the prime minister added. He said that Pakistan welcomes the conclusion of landmark Riyadh Agreement, terming it a “crucial” and “important” step forward towards a political solution and durable peace and security in Yemen. In the first official confirmation of dialogue between the two sides, a Saudi official said on Wednesday that Riyadh is in talks with Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels in a bid to end the country’s civil war.

The comment came after Saudi Arabia brokered a power-sharing agreement between Yemen’s internationally recognised government and southern separatists, which observers say could pave the way for a wider peace deal.