An Axios report on Monday indicated that Pakistan, alongside Türkiye and Egypt, has been relaying messages between Washington and Tehran and may host a high-level meeting in Islamabad later this week involving President Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and potentially Vice President JD Vance, with Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of Iran’s Parliament. The development places Islamabad at the centre of efforts to open a diplomatic channel at a moment when direct US–Iran contact remains frozen.

Yet within hours, the Iranian response underscored the fragility of this opening. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said messages had been received through “friendly countries”, but denied any direct negotiations. Around the same time, Ghalibaf dismissed reports of talks as “fake news” aimed at manipulating oil markets and easing pressure on the United States and Israel. This dual messaging—public denial alongside indirect engagement—reflects a calibrated posture, designed to balance domestic expectations of defiance with the strategic need to keep diplomatic options open.

Pakistan’s role has taken shape through concrete steps over a compressed timeline. On Sunday, Field Marshal Asim Munir held a reported call with President Donald Trump. On Monday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, expressing condolences, extending Eid and Nowruz greetings, and urging de-escalation.

On the same day, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar contacted his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi and coordinated with Türkiye and Egypt—both actively engaged with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in indirect exchanges with Tehran. These are not routine diplomatic contacts. They represent coordinated, high-level engagement across political and military channels, linking actors who otherwise lack direct communication at this stage of the conflict.

This approach is consistent with Pakistan’s conduct since the start of the war. It has maintained continuous contact with Tehran while preserving its strategic commitments to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. That balance was clearly visible at the United Nations Security Council on 1 March. Pakistan supported a Bahrain-backed resolution condemning Iranian missile and drone attacks on Gulf states, signalling solidarity with Saudi Arabia and regional partners.

At the same time, it backed a separate Russia–China draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and respect for international law following the US–Israeli strikes on Iran. That second resolution addressed the broader aggression but was blocked by Washington. The dual vote reflected a deliberate attempt to oppose escalation across the board rather than take........

© The Friday Times