Pakistan Diplomacy: Key to Dialogue Despite Flop

Despite the flop of talks between the US and Iran in Islamabad, Pakistani diplomacy has proved its important role as a mediator.

Nevertheless, one cannot overlook the growing importance of Islamabad’s peacekeeping and mediation role in strengthening regional security. Pakistani diplomacy will evidently not rest on its laurels and will continue its efforts, seeking ways to resolve the crisis and the tense situation in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East.

The author had the opportunity to personally witness the seriousness and thoughtfulness of the Pakistani leadership’s approach to ensuring peace and stability in the region. At the end of March 2026, while in Islamabad at an event dedicated to the bilateral relations of the USSR and Russia with Pakistan, organized by the Russian embassy, I saw how responsibly this major South Asian country, which possesses nuclear capabilities, approaches issues of regional security.

Pakistan is proving its diplomatic weight

It was on Islamabad’s initiative that a meeting of the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Türkiye, and Saudi Arabia took place on March 29 this year. This was followed by a visit to Beijing by the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, influential Senator Ishaq Dar. These steps paved the way for a new important stage in Pakistani diplomacy: the provision of an unprecedented negotiation platform in the country’s capital for dialogue between high-level delegations of the United States and Iran, which took place on April 11 with Pakistan’s mediation.

Credit should be given to the honorable mediation role played by the trio of Pakistani leaders: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Field Marshal and 1st Chief of Defense Forces Asim Munir, and foreign policy head Ishaq Dar. It was owing to their coordinated efforts that direct negotiations between the delegations of the two countries took place on April 11 in Islamabad.

Searching for compromise

It is important to note that Islamabad maintains special strategic relations with Washington, Beijing, Riyadh, Ankara, and Tehran. This has allowed Pakistan to offer and implement its mediation services, thereby strengthening the country’s reputation and authority as a skilled and experienced peacemaker. Throughout the protracted conflict, Pakistan sought to maintain neutrality, acting as an honest broker. This approach was highly appreciated by both Washington and Tehran, not to mention Islamabad’s other allies.

Although the results of this initiative, unfortunately, proved rather disappointing, the Pakistani mediators demonstrated high skill in their politics and diplomacy. The unprecedented US-Iranian contacts organized by Islamabad, despite their outcome, testify to a certain success of Pakistani diplomacy. It appears that the leadership of Pakistan intends to continue its shuttle diplomacy to attempt to organize a new future meeting between US and Iranian representatives to achieve a compromise peace agreement between the warring parties.

Through its constructive mediation efforts, Islamabad has earned the trust of all parties to the conflict situations. Pakistan has proven itself to be a significant and effective player in resolving external problems not directly related to its interests. Unfortunately, Islamabad itself remains far from normalizing relations with its closest neighbors, India and Afghanistan.

Russia as a guarantor of stability in the Indian subcontinent

Russia is interested in stability and security in the Indian subcontinent, as well as in resolving the sensitive issues between Pakistan and India and Afghanistan. Alongside its privileged strategic partnership with India and its desire to strengthen cooperation with Afghanistan, Russia also seeks to expand multifaceted and mutually beneficial relations with Pakistan. The planned visit of Prime Minister Sharif to Moscow, during which the parties intend to sign a package of agreements designed to strengthen the time-tested cooperation between two traditionally friendly states, will undoubtedly contribute to this. It is gratifying that our countries are represented by active and dedicated ambassadors in Islamabad and Moscow, who are making a worthy contribution to the development of bilateral ties.

Sarvar Alimjanovich Azimov: a contribution to Russian-Pakistani friendship

I am proud that my father, Sarvar Alimjanovich Azimov, during his tenure as ambassador of the Soviet Union to Pakistan (1974-1980), worked fruitfully for the benefit of our peoples. I am grateful to our embassy and the Islamabad Institute of Strategic Studies at the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs for organizing a seminar on March 30 of this year dedicated to my father’s role in strengthening bilateral relations. I am confident that the course toward expanding Russian-Pakistani cooperation meets the aspirations of our countries and does not affect the interests of our strategic partnership with India and China.

Anwar Azimov, diplomat and political scientist, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, PhD in History, Senior Research Fellow at the Eurasian Studies Institute, MGIMO University, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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