By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that Pakistan stands ‘ready and honoure’ to host direct negotiations between the United States and Iran, offering Islamabad as a neutral venue for ‘meaningful and conclusive talks’ to end the four-week-old war in the Middle East.
In a post on X, Sharif wrote that Pakistan “welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the war in the Middle East, in the interest of peace and stability in the region and beyond.” He added, “Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict.”
The message tagged President Donald Trump, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Trump promptly shared Sharif’s statement on his Truth Social platform, an unusual public endorsement that appeared to signal at least tentative American interest in Pakistan’s offer.
The prime minister’s announcement came hours after Pakistan’s Foreign Office had urged journalists to stop speculating about reports — carried by Reuters, Axios, CNN, FT and other outlets — that Islamabad might soon become the site of US-Iranian talks.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters that “diplomacy and negotiations often require that certain matters be advanced with discretion” and asked the media to “refrain from speculation and to await official announcements regarding decisions and outcomes.”
The previous day, Andrabi had been more forthcoming, telling the local media that “if the parties desire, Islamabad is always willing to host talks.” He noted that Pakistan has consistently advocated for dialogue and diplomacy to promote regional peace and stability.
The overture reflects a burst of Pakistani diplomatic activity that, according to officials and reporting by the Financial Times and Axios, helped produce a limited, five-day pause in American plans to strike Iranian energy and power infrastructure. On Monday, Trump publicly announced the pause, saying Washington had held “very good and productive conversations” with Tehran over the preceding two days that could lead to a “complete and total resolution” of hostilities. The pause remains conditional and applies only to strikes on major energy assets; fighting continues on multiple fronts. But the diplomatic choreography that produced it went well beyond routine crisis management.
Senior officials from Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt separately engaged with Witkoff and Araghchi, relaying messages between the two sides in indirect exchanges with no direct contact between Washington and Tehran, the reports said. The conversations reportedly covered not only an immediate de-escalation but also the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — the vital waterway that Iran has effectively closed, choking off roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments — and the broader parameters of a possible end to the war.
A Pakistani source familiar with the exchanges told Dawn newspaper that the three Muslim-majority nations were demonstrating “through active back-channel diplomacy involving Steve Witkoff and Abbas Araghchi” that “quiet communication is often the most direct path to global peace.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei confirmed that messages had been conveyed through several “friendly countries” in recent days. He said Iran’s responses were anchored in its “principled positions” and denied that Tehran had engaged in any direct or indirect negotiations with the Trump administration or Witkoff.
Iranian officials described the American announcement as an attempt to influence oil markets. Tehran has insisted that any lasting settlement must include firm guarantees against future U.S. or Israeli attacks, reparations for damage already inflicted, recognition of its rights, a comprehensive regional security arrangement and a framework for secure navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Despite those public denials, U.S. officials have maintained that the indirect messaging helped create the conditions for the pause.
The war began on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, an operation that included the assassination of then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran responded by attacking countries hosting U.S. military bases, striking Gulf energy infrastructure and closing the Strait of Hormuz.
Sharif’s offer followed a telephone call he held Monday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. According to a statement from the prime minister’s office, Sharif expressed concern over the “dangerous ongoing hostilities” and stressed “the urgent need to work collectively for de-escalation and a return to dialogue and diplomacy.” He also emphasized “the critical importance of unity in the ranks of the ummah”. The conversation was publicly described as an exchange of Eid and Nowruz greetings.
The call came as Pakistan’s engagement with regional and international players moved into high gear. The previous day, according to the Financial Times, Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, held a telephone conversation with Trump. Since the conflict erupted last month, Islamabad has repeatedly called on all parties to exercise restraint and return to diplomacy, warning that the fighting now threatens regional energy and water security.
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