Middle East is facing one of the toughest crises of the time. Most of the Middle Eastern states where appear to have plunged in civil war and overwhelmed by terrorism, there Iran and Saudi Arabia being the regional powers fail to lead them out of the chaos. Amid the situation when both the countries are also victim of mutual rivalry, Pakistan can play significant role being an important Muslim Country.

Recent Developments in the Middle East
The recent developments in the Middle East can be seen as following;

A. Syria
A truce has been reached between the Asad government and Syrian rebels who have been fighting a civil war for the previous four years. World powers like US and Russia have also showed their military presence there to combat the ISIS militant group.

B. Libya
Post-Ghaddafi Libya is facing a civil war. UN backed efforts are however working to install a nationally united government there.

C. Saudi-Iran
Both the countries have broken diplomatic relations following the attack on Saudi embassy in Iran. The development came soon after Saudi government hanged a shia cleric Sheikh Al-Nimr for provoking hate against the state.

What Role Pakistan Could Play?
Following the breaking of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia at the beginning of this year, Pakistan’s civil and military leadership paid a visit to both the countries. In the said visit, Pakistan offered both the countries to be a mediator in solving their conflicts.

Both Iran and Saudi Arabia praised Pakistan’s concerns without showing any clear stance to seek Pakistan’s mediation in the near future.

Pakistan, however, made a positive move in this scenario. It was a diplomatic comeback for the country which remained diplomatically dormant for long time. Pakistan is an important Muslim country of the region which has good ties with both Iran and Saudi Arabia. It has efficiently taken a neutral stance despite its clear incline towards Saudi Arabia in the past.

Conclusion
Pakistan has positively yet ineffectively played its role in Saudi-Iran rift. The result of its interference into the matter didn’t bring any results. What more it could do is however debatable as country is itself at decisive point in the war against terrorism. What Pakistan just did was enough and appreciable in this situation.