Pakistan serves as key backchannel for US-Pakistan relations over decades

Pakistani Diplomacy Facilitates US-Iran Ceasefire Proposal

In March, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that Pakistan is relaying a US 15-point ceasefire proposal to Iran, with additional diplomatic support from Turkey and Egypt. The US-Israeli conflict against Iran has entered its second month.

According to chief US negotiator Steve Witkoff, Pakistan is transferring messages between Washington and Tehran. President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform that a 10-day pause on threatened strikes against Iranian power plants has been agreed upon, citing an Iranian request.

Pakistan’s role as a diplomatic facilitator is not new. The country brokered the secret US-China backchannel in 1971 and facilitated talks leading to the Geneva Accords in the 1980s. It also played a key interlocutor role in mediating between Saudi Arabia and Iran, including facilitating the 2020 Doha Agreement.

Since the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the US-Israeli air campaign that began in late February 2026, Islamabad has inserted itself into the crisis, working with regional actors. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has spoken to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, while Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has held a direct call with President Trump.

Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts have been consistent over successive governments, aiming to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Former Pakistani ambassador to China, Naghmana Hashmi, notes that Pakistan’s geography and Muslim-world ties are used as leverage for peace.

In 1969, US President Richard Nixon visited Pakistan and tasked its military ruler with passing a message to Beijing, seeking to open communication with the People’s Republic of China. At the time, the US treated Taiwan as China and did not recognize Beijing. Pakistan was chosen due to its working relations with both Washington and Beijing.

The effectiveness of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts remains uncertain. However, this latest round of diplomacy has raised questions about how and why Pakistan continues to emerge as a diplomatic broker.

Source: Al Jazeera