His “favourite field marshal” has emerged as the key interlocutor between the United States and Iran. He is holding talks with Trump to find a resolution to the fighting, reported Bloomberg, citing sources.
Pakistan is also said to have delivered a 15-point plan to end the war in the Middle East to Iran from the United States.
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“If talks happen, it could raise Pakistan’s global prominence to heights not reached since Pakistan helped mediate the secret diplomatic opening that led to U.S. President Richard Nixon’s visit to China in 1972,” said a Reuters report.
Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and US Vice President JD Vance, could possibly travel to Islamabad if an agreement was likely to be reached.
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“Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict,” Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a social media post on Tuesday.Trump later Tuesday shared Sharif’s message on social media but made no indication of whether he would accept the Pakistani offer.
Pakistan’s vested interests
So far, Pakistan has mostly tried to stay above the fray. It had condemned the US-Israeli strikes on Iran without naming the United States; vowed to defend Saudi Arabia under a mutual defence pact, but without retaliating against Iran; and maintained regular communications with Iranian officials.
But now Islamabad wants a larger diplomatic role and favours in return for relaying messages between Iran and the US to end the war.
The Shehbaz Sharif government has much to gain from peace. The South Asian country is among the economies most exposed to the energy shock triggered by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the shutdown of key facilities in Qatar and elsewhere in the region.
The billions of dollars that Pakistani workers remit every year from Arab countries in the Gulf region are crucial for Pakistan’s economy. And with its economy heavily reliant on oil imports — 81% of which comes from the Gulf — it was among the first to provide military escorts for its ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
The strain is already bleeding the country. Pakistan’s PM has cut spending and rolled out fuel-saving steps such as halting cabinet ministers’ salaries, shutting schools and moving to a four-day work week. Higher global oil prices could lead to additional increases in domestic fuel rates, a move that would likely feed into inflation and weigh on the rupee, which is sensitive to energy costs.
In addition to this, Pakistan is also engaged in a conflict with another neighbour, Afghanistan. Officials in Islamabad have been on high alert amid fears of an attack on the Pakistani capital in retaliation for Pakistan’s recent airstrikes on Afghanistan.
In Trump’s good books
Munir has been trying to build a closer relationship with Trump to repair years of mistrust, with Pakistan joining Trump’s Board of Peace soon after his visit to Davos to meet him in January. The outreach has been backed by broader moves from Islamabad, with the country’s top civilian and military leadership nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize last year and offering partnerships with the United States on counterterrorism.
Notably, Pakistan has replaced Burkina Faso as the country most affected by terrorism, recording 1,139 deaths and 1,045 incidents — its worst toll in over a decade, as per the latest Global Terror Index.
Alongside these efforts, Pakistan has struck a deal with a crypto business linked to Trump’s family to use its USD1 stablecoin for cross-border payments, while White House envoy Steve Witkoff helped broker an agreement to redevelop New York’s Roosevelt Hotel, owned by Pakistan International Airlines.
Against this backdrop, even as several countries have offered to act as interlocutors with Iran, analysts say Pakistan brings advantages as a potential mediator. “They know Iran very well,” Trump said last year about Pakistan after a lunch with Munir at the White House during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel.
As a non-Arab, Muslim country like Iran that does not host a US military base, Pakistan avoids the direct risks faced by several Gulf nations.
Beyond border & belief
Pakistan is tied to Iran by border and belief. It shares a sensitive 560-mile border with the Islamic Republic.
Nearly one-fifth of Pakistan’s 240 million people are Shiite Muslims, among the largest such communities outside Iran.
Pakistani officials have indicated that they want to avoid a confrontation with Iran. Sharif has held regular calls and meetings with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian this year, according to Sharif’s spokesperson, Mosharraf Zaidi.
Though no formal confirmation of talks in Pakistan has been made, the chatter has already picked up.
