NEW DELHI: In its attempt at being relevant while seeking economic support, Pakistan looks intent on playing a complicated game of diplomatic checkers where its apparent “peace mediation” efforts appear to contradict its own stand.
The diplomatic push is a pivot for Pakistan, which has spent more time as a combatant over the past year in its own conflicts than as a peace broker, pointed out a report in The New York Times.
Islamabad has a chequered history in Afghan involvement, especially during the Soviet occupation. Lately, it has been conducting a series of airstrikes against Kabul, striking households and even a drug rehabilitation centre. Its active support to terror networks through hosting and training insurgents and launching them into India is a documented fact. Some media reports quote analysts attributing Pakistan’s selection to its shared 900 km border with Iran, working relations with both sides, and geographic edge over traditional mediators like Qatar under Iranian fire. Through this, United States President Donald Trump’s repeated statements of admiration for Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif and Army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Iran’s rejection of sending a delegation to Islamabad for the second round of peace talks raise questions over Islamabad being a “neutral negotiator”.
Additionally, in an exclusive interview to IANS, US former National Security Advisor (NSA) H.R. McMaster cast doubt on its role in Iran-related diplomacy, describing it as a “client” of China and warning of “ulterior motives” in its mediation efforts. McMaster was NSA to President Trump in his first term.
Amidst Islamabad’s contradictory moves, McMaster has argued that given Beijing’s vested interest in preserving the current Iranian regime, Pakistan’s offer to broker talks may not be neutral.
Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and other officials have repeatedly framed Islamabad as a neutral facilitator committed to sustained dialogue and regional stability. Pakistan has publicly offered to host further rounds of US-Iran talks and highlighted coordination with China and Gulf partners. Though Islamabad has thus emerged as a central intermediary in the West Asia crisis since February 2026, securing a fragile ceasefire window, it is facing public rebuffs from Tehran and deep scepticism from analysts about its ability to convert talks into a durable settlement. (IANS)
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