- PM Shehbaz says two-week ceasefire between US and Iran.
- Pakistan’s leaders worked tirelessly to make talks possible: Prime Minister.
- He expresses gratitude to US and Iran for accepting Pak’s invitation.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that Pakistan remains fully committed to efforts to resolve outstanding issues between the United States and Iran, and praised the political and military leaders for their role in hosting the historic talks in Islamabad.
Islamabad emerged as a key mediator in the US-Iran war after Prime Minister Shehbaz mediated a two-week ceasefire between the two sides on April 8. Delegations from Washington and Tehran then arrived in Islamabad and held negotiations for more than 20 hours at his invitation over the past weekend. However, the negotiations could not culminate in an agreement.
Addressing the federal cabinet, the prime minister said Pakistan played an important role in bringing the United States and Iran to the table after about 47 years, noting that both the delegations visited Pakistan at the request of Islamabad.
He said the talks marked the first time the two sides engaged in direct, face-to-face dialogue at such a level, and discussions continued for 21 hours.
Prime Minister Shehbaz added that Pakistan’s leaders worked tirelessly to make the negotiations possible.
The prime minister also expressed gratitude to the United States and Iran for accepting Pakistan’s invitation and said both delegations appreciated the country’s hospitality and recognized its constructive role.
He maintained that Pakistan’s efforts had helped maintain the two-week ceasefire, while trying to resolve outstanding issues.
He said Pakistan was able to step in as a mediator and contribute positively to regional stability at a time when the global economy was reeling from conflict.
The Islamabad talks lasted about 21 hours and marked the first direct meeting between the United States and Iran in more than a decade, as well as the highest-level discussions since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The US delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance, included President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The Iranian delegation was led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The talks were aimed at ending six weeks of fighting that has killed thousands of people across the Gulf and strangled vital energy supplies and sparked fears of a broader regional conflict.
The conflict in the Middle East began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched a joint bombing campaign against Iran.
The scope quickly expanded as Iran effectively blockaded the Strait of Hormuz and launched attacks on Israel and US bases in the Middle East.
The war has shaken global financial markets and caused thousands of civilian deaths, mainly in Iran and Lebanon.
