From calls with Tehran and Gulf capitals to ceasefire diplomacy and marathon talks in Islamabad, Pakistan has inserted itself into the most delicate phase of the U.S.-Iran crisis and emerged as an unlikely broker of dialogue.
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi backed Pakistan’s role in the US-Iran Islamabad Talks during a call with Shehbaz Sharif. She emphasised de-escalation and the urgent need to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan said it was still making a full diplomatic push to ease tensions between the United States and Iran after marathon talks in Islamabad ended without agreement, underscoring Islamabad’s bid to keep a fragile mediation effort from unravelling.
The Islamabad Talks were never designed to deliver an instant grand bargain between Washington and Tehran. Their significance lies in something more foundational: they preserved the ceasefire, brought both sides face to face, defined the central sticking point and opened the door to a second phase of diplomacy.
Donald Trump praised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir as “very extraordinary men” after being briefed on the marathon U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad, placing Pakistan’s leadership at the centre of a major diplomatic moment.
Imran Khan’s sister says he is fit, with normal blood pressure and improved eyesight. Official records document specialist treatment and family access. Yet the international narrative remains one of isolation and medical crisis. The record versus the rhetoric.
Zulfikar Bukhari's remarks to Reuters, describing a freed Imran Khan as unwilling to confront army chief Asim Munir, don't just shift PTI's tone. Coming from one of Khan's closest aides, they quietly kill the "dut kar khara hai kaptaan" promise that has held the party's base together for two years.
The Supreme Court has ordered the transfer of Imran Khan from Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital for medical assessment and treatment, while directing that his health condition should not be used for political activity or media campaigning.
Countries do not enter mutual defence commitments with partners whose reliability they doubt, because the cost of misjudging that is measured in soldiers. Riyadh and Ankara have decided Pakistan is a state whose word will hold when it is expensive to hold it.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement at Al-Safa Palace, a trilateral pact under which an armed attack against any one of the three states will be regarded as an attack against them all.