Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will leave for Tehran on January 12, Riyadh on January 13 and Washington, most probably, on January 15-16 to pursue Pakistan's quest for peace in the Middle East following rising tension between the US and Iran.

In conversation with anchorpersons, Foreign Minister Qureshi also clarified that Pakistan was not making the efforts for mediation between Washington and Tehran, but it was making efforts for the de-escalation of tension.

Qureshi said he would be visiting Tehran on January 12 to hold talks with the Iranian leadership on the latest regional situation and the efforts to defuse the tension in the region. On January 13, he said he would travel to Riyadh to hold talks with Saudi leadership on the regional situation.

Qureshi further said that his next destination would be Washington probably on January 15-16 to hold talks with the US authorities.

The foreign minister will be undertaking the visits to the three countries on the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan who on January 8 stated that Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa will also be contacting military leaders of the concerned countries "to convey a clear message that Pakistan is ready to play its role for peace but it can never again be part of any war."

Tension escalated between the US and Iran following the assassination of top Iranian commander General Qasem Soleimani who was killed in a US drone attack in Baghdad on January 3, followed by Iranian retaliation by launching over a dozen of ballistic missiles against the US bases in Iraq on January 8.