PAKISTAN PERSPECTIVE

Islamabad is living its most consequential diplomatic moment in decades and makes no effort to hide it. Dawn details a two-pronged shuttle diplomacy operation: army chief Asim Munir leads a delegation to Tehran that includes Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and ISI chief Lt. Gen. Asim Malik, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif embarks on a tour of Riyadh, Doha and Istanbul. The paper reveals that Munir carries a message from Washington that includes elements tied to the Lebanon ceasefire -- a sign that Pakistani mediation now extends well beyond the Iran file. Tehran, according to a source close to the delegation quoted by Dawn, is waiting for Israel's announcement on the Lebanese ceasefire before responding to the American message relayed through Pakistan.

Geo News publishes an editorial that doesn't bother with understatement: the Islamabad talks were not a failure but rather "an important early-stage achievement." The editorial insists that getting Washington and Tehran to sit face-to-face for the first time since 1979 is itself a feat, and that recognition from "both sides of the table" proves Islamabad's credibility. The text underlines that Pakistan simultaneously balanced relationships with China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United States -- an exercise in "strategic calibration" that the editorial considers "often underestimated."

This triumphalist framing tracks with domestic realities: Pakistan is weathering a severe economic crisis (the IMF pegs growth at 3.6% against a 4.2% target), and this diplomatic win hands the military establishment and the Sharif government a rare form of political capital. The army, which controls foreign policy de facto, is positioning itself as indispensable to regional stability -- a powerful argument against domestic critics focused on rule of law and opposition crackdowns.