The talks could strengthen Pakistan’s global position, echoing its role during Nixon’s 1972 visit to China.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and US President Donald Trump during the “Peace Council” meeting in Davos on January 22, 2026. PHOTO: Reuters
Pakistan’s role as a possible host of talks aimed at ending the war in Iran is based on its courtship of U.S. President Donald Trump and its reputation as a relatively neutral actor with long-standing ties to the neighboring Islamic Republic of Iran.
If negotiations take place, they could raise Pakistan’s global profile to heights not seen since the country helped mediate the secret diplomatic overture that led to US President Richard Nixon’s visit to China in 1972.
It would cap more than a year of relationship-building with Trump that has involved shrewd diplomacy and crypto deals.
Pakistan, which maintains direct contacts with Washington and Tehran at a time when those channels are frozen for most other countries, would also benefit directly from an end to the war.
The country is home to the world’s second-largest Shiite Muslim population after Iran and has faced nationwide protests in the wake of US and Israeli strikes that assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the conflict on February 28.
The risk that a protracted war in Iran could spill over to Pakistan is among Islamabad’s biggest fears, according to analysts and security officials. Pakistan, engaged in conflict with the Afghan Taliban, has also suffered fuel shortages caused by the war in Iran.
Read also: Dar holds talks with UK, China and UAE as US-Iran diplomacy intensifies
“Pakistan enjoys unusual credibility as a mediator, maintaining viable ties with Washington and Tehran, while a history of strained relations with each gives it just enough distance to be considered a credible broker,” said Adam Weinstein, deputy director of the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute. Reuters.
Building relationships with Trump
Chief of Defense Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir has forged close ties with Trump to repair years of mistrust. Pakistan joined Trump’s Peace Council just after CDF Munir visited Davos to meet Trump in January.
Pakistan also struck a deal with a crypto firm linked to the Trump family to use its $1 stablecoin for cross-border payments, while White House envoy Steve Witkoff helped broker a deal to redevelop New York’s Roosevelt Hotel, owned by Pakistan International Airlines.
Pakistan has been involved in diplomacy to end the Iran conflict since the beginning, including circulating at least half a dozen messages between the United States and Iran, according to five official Pakistani sources.
Before Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed the offer of talks on Tuesday, one of the Pakistani sources and a foreign source said officials from the two countries could hold talks in Islamabad as early as the end of this week. The Pakistani source said US Vice President JD Vance, Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to attend.
According to official press releases, over the past month, Prime Minister Shehbaz and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar have had more than 30 conversations with their Middle Eastern counterparts, including half a dozen with Iranian officials. Two took place on Monday, the same day the United States announced mediation efforts were underway, and took place alongside a phone conversation between CDF Munir and Trump that was confirmed by the White House.
“Pakistan hosting US-Iran talks represents a major improvement in Islamabad’s strategic position,” said Kamran Bokhari, a senior fellow at the Middle East Policy Council in Washington. Reuters.
Learn more: PM Shehbaz says Pakistan ready to host US-Iran talks as FO acknowledges role in de-escalation efforts
“After decades of turmoil, Pakistan appears to be re-emerging as a major US ally in West Asia,” he said.
Ties with Tehran
Bokhari said Pakistan was Iran’s least antagonistic neighbor while maintaining “the closest ties with its historic regional adversary, Saudi Arabia and [being] the confidence of Washington.
Pakistan shares a sensitive border with Iran through Balochistan. The neighbors clashed along their border in January 2024, but ties have since been restored.
Iran might perceive him as more neutral than other possible mediators. “Unlike Gulf states like Qatar, Pakistan does not host U.S. military bases and is a military power in its own right,” Weinstein said.
Pakistan can also rely on its historical role as an intermediary: Tehran’s de facto diplomatic mission to the United States has been housed in the Pakistani embassy in Washington since the breakdown of diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran in 1979.
The mutual defense agreement between Islamabad and Riyadh, signed in September, obliges the two countries to come to each other’s aid and therefore weighed on the calculations.
As the US war in Iran entered its second week and Tehran struck Saudi Arabia, FM Dar said he had reminded Iran of the deal and was trying to mediate with Iran.
Security sources in Pakistan said Islamabad was bound by the deal but was trying to avoid entering the conflict through its behind-the-scenes talks with Tehran.
