KABUL: Pakistan's perceived "negative" global image - stemming from allegations of involvement in the major international terrorist attacks, complex religious - ideological alignments, strained diplomatic relations and past failures in mediation has undermined its credibility as mediator between the US and Iran. As a result, Islamabad's involvement remained peripheral, largely confined to offering a diplomatic platform rather than shaping the direction of negotiations, a report has highlighted.
A report by the Afghan Diaspora Network, citing anonymous US officials, claimed that Iran shifted several military and civilian aircraft, including a reconnaissance RC-130 plane, to Pakistan's Nur Khan Air Base during the Iran-US conflict, possibly to protect them from American strikes. At the same time, Pakistan projected itself as a diplomatic bridge between Tehran and Washington, while Islamabad acknowledged that Iranian aircraft were present at its facility for "diplomacy-related logistics" linked to ceasefire discussions.
"While Pakistan has publicly presented itself as a mediator in the ongoing war between the US-Israel, and Iran, the boasting is much farther from the realities. Islamabad is not a mediator but just a facilitator of talks, as revealed by the developments of direct talks between American and Iranian delegates in Pakistan's capital. Pakistan's cosy approach toward the US and the mistrust of Iran and Israel towards Islamabad further limited its credibility," the report detailed. (IANS)
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