Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appealed to US President Donald Trump on Wednesday to extend a deadline for two weeks that he had set for Iran to make a deal with Washington and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

PM Shehbaz’s appeal came hours before Trump’s April 8, 8pm ET deadline was about to end, with the US president having warned of wider bombing on Iranian infrastructure if Tehran fails to meet the deadline.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump had renewed his threat to Iran, saying “a whole civilisation will die tonight”, as it showed no sign of accepting his ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Hours later, PM Shehbaz posted on X:“Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in the near future.

“To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks.”

He also requested Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz — a key maritime corridor through which 20pc of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the Middle East war began — for a corresponding period of two weeks.

“Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open the Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture.

“We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region,” he said.

Soon after PM Shehbaz’s post, US media outlet Axios reported that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had said Trump had been informed about the request.

“The President has been made aware of the proposal, and a response will come,” it quoted White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as saying.

Separately, Fox News quoted Trump as stating that his administration was in the midst of tough talks.

“I can’t tell you, because right now we’re in heated negotiations,“ he told Fox News.

Meanwhile, Reuters quoted a senior Iranian official as saying that Iran was positively reviewing Pakistan’s request.

Pakistan has positioned itself as a facilitator in the peace process between Tehran and Washington for an end to ongoing hostilities in the Middle East that began with the US and Israel launching strikes in Iran on February 28.

In a retaliatory measure, Iran has restricted much of the traffic in Hormuz, which has plunged the world into a fuel crisis.

More to follow