What role did Pakistan play in facilitating a brief ceasefire between Iran and America?

n n

Pakistan has emerged as a key intermediary between Iran and the United States to secure a temporary ceasefire and host negotiations to end the war in the Middle East.

n

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the United States and Iran — and their allies had — agreed to a ceasefire “everywhere” following mediation by his government.

n

Sharif said the two-week truce – which Trump and Tehran had announced earlier – would next lead to talks in the Pakistan capital.

n

“Pakistan achieved one of its biggest diplomatic wins in years,” said South Asia expert Michael Kugelman in an X post.

n

“It also defied many skeptics and naysayers that didn’t think it had the capacity to pull off such a complex, high stakes feat.”

n

– What are Pakistan’s ties to Iran? –

n

“Pakistan has strong credentials as the only country in the region enjoying good relations with the US and Iran,” said the country’s former ambassador to Tehran, Asif Durrani.

n

Pakistan shares a 900-kilometre (560-mile) border in its southwest with Iran, and also deep historical, cultural and religious links.

n

Pakistan is home to the world’s second-biggest Shia Muslim population after Iran.

n

Iran was the first country to recognise Pakistan after independence in 1947. Pakistan returned the favour for the Islamic republic after the 1979 revolution.

n

Pakistan also represents some Iranian diplomatic interests in Washington, where Tehran has no embassy.

n

– How about the US? –

n

Pakistan’s powerful army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, has built up a personal rapport with US President Donald Trump.

n

Munir — in a Western business suit rather than army fatigues — visited Washington with Sharif last year after a flare-up in hostilities between Pakistan and India in divided Kashmir.

n

Sharif praised Trump’s “bold and visionary” intervention, while Munir said the US leader deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for stopping an escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

n

On Iran, Trump said Pakistan knows the country “better than most”.

n

Personal relations have long helped boost bilateral ties shaped by shifting strategic interests that have at times been strained.

n

Even as a non-NATO ally in the post-9/11 “war on terror”, Pakistan faced US claims that it was harbouring militants who were responsible for attacking coalition troops across the border in Afghanistan.

n

Relations strained further when US troops killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil in 2011 without telling Islamabad, and Pakistan faced accusations of complicity in harbouring the fugitive.

n

– How about other regional players? –

n

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a strategic mutual defence agreement in 2025, cementing longstanding ties but also restricting how far Islamabad could go in supporting Tehran.

n

Sharif and his government have been quick to keep Riyadh on side, and the prime minister recently visited for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

n

Pakistan also shares close ties with Beijing, which, Trump told AFP, helped get Iran across the line to the negotiating table.

n

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar hosted a meeting with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt last month for discussions on de-escalating the conflict and then flew to Beijing for further talks.

n

China, which is Iran’s largest trading partner, then joined its longstanding South Asian ally in calling for a plan to end the fighting engulfing the Middle East, saying it supported “Pakistan playing a unique and important role in easing the situation”.

n

– What’s in it for Pakistan? –

n

Neutrality makes economic sense for Pakistan, which relies on oil and gas imports through the Strait of Hormuz and wants to avoid getting dragged into further conflict on its doorstep.

n

Continued disruption would have worsened fuel supplies, driven up prices and forced further austerity measures for the cash-strapped government.

n

A permanent end to the war would not only boost regional stability but also Pakistan’s international standing at a time when it is locked in armed conflict with neigbouring Afghanistan and less than a year after it traded strikes with arch-rival India.

n

– What role will Pakistan play next? –

n

The Pakistani premier said he would welcome US and Iranian delegations to the capital from April 10.

n

“Iran will feel more comfortable in Islamabad which is why it accepted Pakistan’s mediation,” said Durrani, the former ambassador, adding Pakistan could help the two sides resolve outstanding differences.

n

If talks were direct, “then Pakistan may help the parties to fine-tune the language if there is a stalemate”, he said, adding that Pakistan officials could also act as the go-between if the two sides would not meet face-to-face.

n

Pakistan does not formally recognise Israel, which said on Wednesday it supported Trump’s decision to suspend bombing, but that the two-week ceasefire did not include Lebanon where it has carried out ground and aerial operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah.

n

That contradicted Sharif’s earlier statement that the ceasefire covered “everywhere including Lebanon”.

n

bur-phz-ceg/fox

n n