Talks could boost Pakistan’s global standing, echoing its role in Nixon’s 1972 visit to China
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and US President Donald Trump at the “Board of Peace” meeting in Davos on January 22, 2026. PHOTO:REUTERS
Pakistan’s role as a potential host of talks aimed at ending the Iran war rests on its courtship of US President Donald Trump and its reputation as a relatively neutral player with long-standing ties to the neighboring Islamic Republic of Iran.
If negotiations take place, it could raise Pakistan’s global prominence to heights not reached since it helped broker the secret diplomatic opening that led to US President Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to China.
That would cap a year of relationship-building with Trump that has involved shrewd diplomacy and crypto deals.
Pakistan, which maintains direct contact with both Washington and Tehran at a time when such channels are frozen for most other countries, would also directly benefit from an end to the war.
The country is home to the world’s second-largest Shia Muslim population after Iran and faced nationwide protests the day after US and Israeli strikes assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the conflict on February 28.
The risk of a protracted war in Iran spilling over into Pakistan is among Islamabad’s greatest fears, analysts and security officials say. Pakistan, which has been embroiled in a conflict with the Afghan Taliban, has also suffered fuel disruptions caused by the Iran war.
Read also: Dar is talking to Britain, China and the United Arab Emirates as US-Iranian diplomacy escalates
“Pakistan has unusual credibility as a broker, maintaining workable ties with both Washington and Tehran, while a history of strained relations with each gives it just enough distance to be seen as a credible broker,” said Adam Weinstein, deputy director of the Middle East Program at the Quincy Institute. Reuters.
Building relationships with Trump
Defense chief and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir has built a close relationship with Trump to repair years of mistrust. Pakistan joined Trump’s Board of Peace just after CDF Munir flew to Davos to meet Trump in January.
Pakistan has also struck a deal with a crypto business linked to the Trump family to use its USD1 stablecoin for cross-border payments, while White House envoy Steve Witkoff helped broker a deal to rebuild New York’s Roosevelt Hotel, owned by Pakistan International Airlines.
Pakistan has been involved in diplomacy to end the Iran conflict since it began, including sending at least half a dozen messages between the United States and Iran, according to five official Pakistani sources.
Before Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed the offer of talks on Tuesday, one of the Pakistani sources and a foreign source said officials from both countries could hold talks in Islamabad as early as the end of this week. The Pakistani source said US Vice President JD Vance, Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected to attend.
According to official press releases, Prime Minister Shehbaz and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar have held over 30 talks with counterparts in the Middle East over the past month, including half a dozen with Iranian officials. Two took place on Monday, the same day the US said mediation efforts were underway, and came along with a phone call between CDF Munir and Trump that was confirmed by the White House.
“Pakistan hosting the US-Iran talks represents a major upgrade to Islamabad’s strategic standing,” said Kamran Bokhari, senior resident fellow at the Middle East Policy Council in Washington. Reuters.
Read more: PM Shehbaz says Pakistan ready to host US-Iran talks as FO acknowledges role in de-escalation efforts
“After decades of being a troubled state, Pakistan appears to be re-emerging as a major US ally in West Asia,” he said.
Connections with Tehran
Bokhari said Pakistan was Iran’s least resistant neighbor while maintaining “the closest ties with its historic regional adversary Saudi Arabia and [being] trusted by Washington”.
Pakistan shares a sensitive border with Iran across Balochistan. The neighbors clashed along their border in January 2024, but ties have since been mended.
Iran may perceive it as more neutral than other possible mediators. “Unlike Gulf states like Qatar, Pakistan does not host US military bases and is a military power in its own right,” Weinstein said.
Pakistan can also lean on its historic role as an intermediary – Tehran’s de facto diplomatic mission in the US has been hosted by Pakistan’s embassy in Washington since US-Iran diplomatic relations broke off in 1979.
Islamabad’s mutual defense agreement with Riyadh, signed in September, requires both countries to come to the other’s rescue and has therefore weighed on calculations.
As the US war in Iran entered its second week and Tehran hit Saudi Arabia, FM Dar said he had reminded Iran of the pact and was trying to mediate with Iran.
Security sources in Pakistan said Islamabad was bound by the pact but was working to avoid entering the conflict through its backchannel negotiations with Tehran.
