PAKISTAN PERSPECTIVE

Islamabad, May 17, 2026. Pakistan is pursuing intensive shuttle diplomacy as the Iran-US peace process it helped initiate remains stalled. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi conducted a two-day unannounced visit to Tehran, where he held a 90-minute meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and met separately with Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who was part of Iran's delegation at the April Islamabad talks.

The visit occurs amid significant deadlock. Washington rejected Iran's latest proposal, demanding Israel maintain only one operational nuclear site and transfer highly enriched uranium stockpiles to the US. In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that Washington's mixed messages have made Tehran skeptical of actual American intentions. Trump, returning from Beijing, indicated he might accept a 20-year suspension of Iranian enrichment if Tehran provided guarantees deemed "credible" — a softening of his original stance that has yet to restart negotiations.

The Trump-Xi Beijing summit produced no breakthrough on Iran. Both powers agreed on maintaining Hormuz Strait freedom and preventing regional escalation, but these commitments remained general. Pakistani media notes that Beijing, despite earlier speculation, did not exert decisive pressure on Tehran to accept compromise.

The human cost of the conflict weighs on discussions. According to figures cited by Iranian media and repeated in Pakistani coverage, US-Israeli strikes on Tehran caused 1,260 deaths, 2,800 injuries, and damaged 51,000 homes — data fueling Iranian resistance to concessions.

In this tense context, PM Shehbaz Sharif granted an interview to the Sunday Times calling Pakistan's mediator role a defining moment in national history. He credited the political-military partnership, specifically naming Field Marshal Asim Munir, whose critical role he said "will be recorded in history." Qatar and Egypt have publicly endorsed Pakistan's efforts, with Doha thanked for strong backing during a phone call between the two government leaders.

Pakistan's diplomacy now focuses on convening a second round of direct talks in Islamabad, following the first cycle on April 11-12 that ended without agreement but without rupture. Islamabad has transmitted Iran's response to Washington and positions itself as an indispensable communications channel, hoping that patience and pragmatism will eventually open the path to a lasting agreement.