ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan arrived in the Turkish resort city of Antalya on Thursday, the third stop on a three-nation tour through the Middle East that has underscored Islamabad’s deepening role as a diplomatic bridge in a region still reeling from weeks of war between the United States, Israel and Iran.
Politics
As ceasefire nears deadline, Pakistan juggles talks in Riyadh and Tehran
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Landed in Jeddah on Wednesday for talks with the kingdom’s leadership, even as the army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, reached Tehran carrying what Iranian officials said a new message from Washington aimed at salvaging a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
Sharif embarks on four-day tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Türkiye to advance US-Iran peace talks
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif left Islamabad on Wednesday for a four-day diplomatic tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Türkiye, stepping up Islamabad’s role as a mediator in the fragile US-Iran peace process as momentum builds for a second round of negotiations.
Trump says Iran talks likely back in Islamabad within days, lauds Field Marshal Munir’s ‘fantastic’ role
ISLAMABAD: President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that a second round of direct negotiations with Iran to end the seven-week war could resume in Islamabad as soon as the next two days, reversing an earlier suggestion that the talks might shift to Europe and signaling fresh momentum in the diplomatic push even as the United States enforces a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Sisters of Imran Khan reach gates of Adiala Jail but are turned away, despite court-ordered visitation rights
RAWALPINDI: The sisters of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan made it as far as the main gate of Adiala Jail on Tuesday before prison authorities denied them entry, the family said, in the latest example of the restrictions that have largely prevented the ousted leader from receiving visitors for months even after a court ruling granted him regular access.
US and Iran explore path back to the table
ISLAMABAD: A new round of in-person negotiations between the United States and Iran could be held as early as this week, multiple people familiar with the discussions said Tuesday, days after the highest-level direct talks between the two countries in nearly five decades collapsed without a breakthrough.
UPDATED: US blockade of Iranian ports begins as Trump warns any approaching ships ‘will be immediately eliminated’
ISLAMABAD: The US naval blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports began on schedule Monday, hours after the collapse of high-level talks in Pakistan, with President Donald Trump warning that any Iranian vessels — including “fast attack ships” — approaching the operation “will be immediately ELIMINATED.”
PM Sharif says US-Iran ceasefire holds, further talks likely
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran remained in force and that “full efforts” were underway to resolve the issues still separating the two sides, one day after Pakistan hosted the first direct, face-to-face negotiations between senior American and Iranian officials in nearly half a century.
Iran warns ‘no port in region will be safe’ as US blockade of Hormuz set to begin in hours, oil surges past $100
ISLAMABAD: Iran’s armed forces warned Monday that “no port in the region will be safe” if the United States proceeds with its planned naval blockade of Iranian ports and coastal waters, declaring the impending operation an “illegal act” that “amounts to piracy” and vowing that security in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman will be “for everyone or for no one.”
UPDATED: US-Iran talks collapse in Islamabad after marathon 21-hour session, Tehran rejects Washington’s core demands over nuclear program
ISLAMABAD: Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday the United States and Iran had failed to reach any agreement after more than 21 hours of direct, high-stakes negotiations here, the first face-to-face talks between senior officials of the two nations in more than four decades and the highest-level contact since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.