President Zardari praises Pakistan’s role in facilitating US-Iran talks

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday commended Pakistan’s sustained diplomatic efforts to facilitate dialogue between the United States and Iran during a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The president appreciated Pakistan’s role in helping make the diplomatic initiative of hosting peace negotiations between Tehran and Washington a significant success. During the meeting, the two leaders reviewed the prevailing regional security and diplomatic situation and discussed its wider implications for global security, economic stability and geopolitical developments.

The prime minister briefed the president on the different stages of the US-Iran dialogue, as well as the progress made through Pakistan’s mediation efforts. He also informed President Zardari about his upcoming visits to Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, which are aimed at advancing peace efforts further.

Pakistan emerged as an important intermediary in the US-Iran conflict after Prime Minister Shehbaz helped secure a two-week ceasefire on April 8. Following the temporary truce, delegations from Washington and Tehran travelled to Islamabad at his invitation and held more than 20 hours of negotiations over the weekend.

Despite the lengthy discussions and intensive diplomatic engagement, the talks ended without a final agreement.

Regional conflict and Pakistan’s mediation

The conflict began on February 28 after coordinated US-Israeli strikes targeted Iran’s leadership and infrastructure. More than 2,000 people have been killed in the fighting, which has also contributed to broader instability across the region.

Tehran responded with retaliatory operations that included disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and carrying out attacks on Israeli and US targets in the region.

Pakistan’s diplomatic role has been widely welcomed by the international community, which has backed its efforts to reduce tensions in the Middle East and support negotiations intended to achieve lasting peace.

President Zardari praised Prime Minister Shehbaz, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and state institutions for their continued diplomatic efforts in facilitating the peace negotiations. He described the initiative as a notable success in promoting regional stability.

The president said coordination among all stakeholders played an important role in enabling the high-level engagement. He also highlighted what he described as Pakistan’s historic role in promoting global peace and regional stability.

President Zardari said that by offering a platform for such an important dialogue, Pakistan had reaffirmed its position as a responsible and pivotal state in the international community and had once again demonstrated its peace-making credentials.

He also said Prime Minister Shehbaz and Deputy Prime Minister Dar should remain proactively engaged with Washington and Tehran, as well as major regional and global powers, to help sustain the peace process and regional harmony.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and the prime minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Senator Rana Sanaullah. The president was assisted by former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Pakistan Peoples Party parliamentary leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman, and former Senate chairman Nayyar Bukhari.