After reports that the US and Iran may not be ‘interested’ in further talks for the war, the recent statement from Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said that Islamabad will continue to facilitate the peace talks between the two countries. The statement came today from Dar after the Iran-US meeting resulted in a deadlock.
“Pakistan has been and will continue to play its role to facilitate engagements and dialogue between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the US in the days to come,” he said.
In a brief statement to the media, Dar said Pakistan has helped mediate several rounds of “intense and constructive” discussions over the past 24 hours.
“I, along with the Defence Forces Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Sim Munir, helped mediate several rounds of intense and constructive negotiations between the two sides that continued through the last 24 hours and ended this morning,” he said.
Expressing hope for progress, Dar, who is also the foreign minister, said both sides should maintain a positive spirit to achieve durable peace and regional stability.
"It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to the ceasefire,” he said.
The failure to arrive at an agreement following the face-to-face negotiations between the two sides raised doubts over the effectiveness of their fragile two-week ceasefire as well as the prospect of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to stabilise the global energy market.
Dar also expressed gratitude to both sides for accepting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s proposal for a ceasefire and acknowledging Pakistan’s mediatory role. Pakistan-brokered talks — the first direct, high-level engagement between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic Revolution — were watched globally amid increasing expectations of a breakthrough.
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