Image source, Reuters
Before the announcement of a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States, Pakistan signaled that there was still some hope for peace.
An unnamed Pakistani source informed that Pakistan mediated the talks between the two countries.
A “very small team” from Pakistan was involved in the negotiations, and despite the atmosphere being “discouraging and serious,” there was still a slight hope to stop the fighting. “Only a few hours remained,” the source, who was not part of the negotiating team, said.
Pakistan has been mediating and facilitating message exchanges between Iran and the US for several weeks. Pakistan shares a longstanding relationship with Iran. These two neighboring countries have often described their relationship as “brotherly.”
Former US President Donald Trump referred to Pakistani Army Chief and Field Marshal Asim Munir as “dear” and noted that he understood Iran “better than others.”
Just after midnight on Tuesday, the Pakistani Prime Minister wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter): “Diplomatic efforts are progressing steadily, strongly, and effectively, with the potential to yield tangible results in the near future.” He urged Trump to extend the time given to Iran to keep the Hormuz Strait open by two more weeks.
Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, wrote on X at 3 a.m. local time, stating that the situation had moved “one step beyond a serious and sensitive phase.”
Before 5 a.m., Pakistan’s Prime Minister announced the ceasefire agreement and invited the two warring countries to meet in Islamabad on Friday, April 10, to “hold further talks for a decisive agreement.”
Situation Remains Fragile
“We remain cautious,” a Pakistani source told, underlining the situation is still very delicate. With both sides sticking to their positions, a trusting environment has yet to develop.
Although Pakistan succeeded in bringing both parties to the negotiation table, questions remain about whether they can find common ground to reach an agreement.
The certainty of reaching an agreement was unclear. “Until yesterday, we were quite optimistic as the process was moving positively,” Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a speech to Pakistan’s parliament on Tuesday night. However, doubts emerged after Israel attacked Iran on Monday, and Iran retaliated in Saudi Arabia.
According to him, Pakistan continued “to make efforts to reconcile,” despite these events.
Field Marshal Munir grew more critical. Speaking with military officials on Tuesday, he remarked that the Saudi Arabia attack had “disrupted serious peace efforts to resolve the conflict through peaceful means.”
This marked the first instance Pakistan employed such strong language since the fighting started in the Middle East.
Some analysts believe this might have put additional pressure on Iran. Under a defense agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, an attack on either party is considered an attack on both.
Although Saudi Arabia has faced multiple attacks, this agreement has not yet been invoked.
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