Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and US President Donald Trump get along.Image: imago
Pakistan announced on Sunday that it had the commitment of the United States and Iran to mediate the war between the countries. Pakistan itself is at war with Afghanistan, but is now acting as a mediator to promote peace. Here are the most important points about the seemingly paradoxical situation.
Apr 01, 2026, 05:24Apr 01, 2026, 06:29
What happened?
On Sunday, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced that it will soon host talks between the United States and Iran. Dar previously discussed possible ways to bring a lasting end to the war in the Gulf region with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Neither the US nor Iran have confirmed that Pakistan has begun negotiations. However, both have released some sort of demands. It is also unclear whether the talks would take place directly or indirectly. For Pakistan, the success of mediation talks would be a diplomatic coup.
From left to right: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.Image: keystone
According to Dar, Pakistan’s efforts are supported by numerous countries and organizations. Not only Egypt, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, but also China and the UN expressed their support to the Pakistani Foreign Minister.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Dar will travel to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, where they will discuss, among other things, a possible end to the Iran war.
Pakistan’s foreign minister on possible negotiations in the Iran war
Ishaq Dar in the media conference after meeting with foreign ministers from the region.Video: Watson
Why Pakistan?
Pakistan maintains a good relationship with the two parties to the conflict. At the same time, Pakistan is not taking sides in this conflict. Pakistan shares a 900 kilometer long border with Iran. The USA also does not have a military base in Pakistan. The country appears neither pro-Israel nor pro-American to the outside world, explains Farhan Siddiqi, professor of political science at the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi, to the BBC.
At the same time, Pakistan has been conducting a diplomatic charm offensive since Trump took office. Pakistan nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize because of his achievements in resolving the conflict between India and Pakistan in 2025. According to Maren Peters, SRF’s South Asia correspondent in “Echo der Zeit”, there is also a good personal relationship between US President Trump and Pakistan’s supreme commander General Munir.
Why is Pakistan striving for peace in the Middle East?
The Iran war has negative consequences for the entire global economy. According to Maren Peters, Pakistan, like many other countries in Southeast Asia, is suffering from the consequences of the Iran war. Prices are rising, which, according to Peters, is decreasing trust in the government. Pakistani migrant workers live in many Gulf states and contribute to the Pakistani economy by sending money to family and friends. These payments plummeted due to the war. In addition to the economic damage, Pakistan fears that its military alliance with Saudi Arabia will drag it into war while it is already waging a war with Afghanistan.