He was talking to Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mashallah Shakiri, who called on him here.
Mushahid Hussain said that the detained personnel of the British Navy should not be punished due to the "mistakes and wrong policies of their government", and urged Iran to seek the "moral high ground and defuse tension in the region by this humanitarian gesture".
The Senator said that the people and government of Pakistan were categorical in supporting the right of Iran to pursue a peaceful nuclear programme under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and "we always opposed any new war or the use of force or sanctions since the only way out is negotiations".
The Iranian Ambassador said that Pakistan should also put pressure on the British government in this regard because this was the 5th violation of Iranian territorial waters.
He said the British government had promised in 2004 that there would be no further violations of Iranian territory.
He said that now "the ball is in Iran's court" and all those who are friends of Iran and who wished to defuse tension feel that this crisis should not be allowed to escalate.
The PML secretary general also welcomed the forthcoming visit of the Speaker of Iranian Parliament Dr. Ghulam Ali Hadad Adil and he invited the Iranian Speaker to address the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and other parliamentarians on April 5, to present Iranian perspective on the regional situation.
Mushahid Hussain hoped that the visit of the Iranian Speaker "would strengthen the bonds of friendship and solidarity between Pakistan and Iran.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2006