Pakistan to host US-Iran ceasefire talks on April 10
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The temporary ceasefire came after a down-to-the-wire bid by Pakistan and other mediators to avert Mr Trump’s threat to destroy all power plants and bridges across Iran.
PHOTO: AFP
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ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on April 8 that Islamabad would host delegations from the United States and Iran later this week following the Middle East ceasefire announcement.
“I... extend deepest gratitude to the leadership of both the countries and invite their delegations to Islamabad on Friday, April 10, 2026, to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes,” he said in a post on X.
Pakistan, which has forged a close relationship with US President Donald Trump and is sensitive to developments in neighbouring Iran, emerged as a channel for messaging between Tehran and Washington in recent weeks.
“We earnestly hope that the ‘Islamabad Talks’ succeed in achieving sustainable peace and wish to share more good news in coming days,” Mr Sharif said.
Both Tehran and Washington said they had agreed to a two-week ceasefire barely an hour before Mr Trump’s deadline to obliterate Iran was set to expire.
The war began when Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader on Feb 28, sparking retaliatory attacks from Tehran on Gulf nations and Israel.
Lebanon has also been drawn into the conflict, after Iran-backed group Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel, which has since carried out strikes – including on the capital – and launched ground operations in the south of the country.
Mr Sharif said the ceasefire applied “everywhere”, including in Lebanon, though Israel later said that it did not apply to that country.
The temporary ceasefire came after a down-to-the-wire bid by Pakistan and other mediators to avert Mr Trump’s threat to destroy all power plants and bridges across Iran, a move that legal experts said could constitute a war crime.
Turkey and Egypt have also been helping mediate in recent days, while China helped get Iran to the negotiating table, Mr Trump told AFP on April 8.
Despite trading missile fire with Iran two years ago and holding an at-times rocky relationship with Washington, Islamabad currently shares warm ties with both capitals.
That helped boost its moderating credentials, burnished by its allyship with heavyweight regional players, including Saudi Arabia and Beijing.
Pakistan is home to the world’s second-largest Shia Muslim population after Iran – with which it shares a 900km border – and represents some Iranian diplomatic interests in Washington where Tehran has no embassy. AFP
