Pakistan takes rare global stage in US-Iran talks

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ISLAMABAD – Roads blocked by shipping containers, armed soldiers out on patrol, and luxury hotels quietly asking guests to vacate: the leafy Pakistani capital Islamabad has transformed into a security fortress as officials prepare for high-stakes peace talks between the US and Iran.

US President Donald Trump is dispatching Vice-President J.D. Vance, along with special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, to the city to meet Iranian officials on April 11, after announcing a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire agreement earlier this week. 

The nuclear-armed Islamic nation has carved out an unlikely role as mediator in the Middle East conflict, capitalising on its warm ties with nearly all of the key players in the six-week conflict, giving the Pakistani capital a rare moment on the global stage.

Pakistan and the US have had a bumpy relationship since a US operation secretly killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a compound just 120km north of Islamabad in 2011. But ties blossomed again in 2025, in part over a counter-terrorism collaboration and a budding personal relationship between Mr Trump and Pakistani army leader Asim Munir. 

Pakistan, meanwhile, shares close ties with its neighbour Iran, as well as China and other Gulf countries. The exception is Israel, not officially recognised by Islamabad and which is not attending the talks.  

The negotiations mark the first trip by a top US official in years to the Pakistani capital. Former secretary of state Mike Pompeo visited the city in 2018, while Mr Joe Biden paid a visit in 2011 as vice-president in the shadow of the war in neighbouring Afghanistan. 

Mr Trump said he was “optimistic” about a deal coming together, though the Strait of Hormuz has remained largely at a standstill despite the ceasefire, while Israel’s parallel war on Lebanon remains a flashpoint. 

All across Islamabad, frantic preparations for the talks on April 11 were unmistakable.

Workers hoisted green crescent-moon Pakistani flags all along the Srinagar Highway, which bisects the city’s checkerboard downtown. Businesses have closed up after city administrators announced an impromptu two-day public holiday on April 9 and 10.

The Serena Hotel – the sprawling luxury venue favoured by international cricket teams – was being sealed off on April 9 in preparation for the arrival of delegates. The venue has been booked out from the evening of April 10 to 12, with no other guests allowed to enter during that time. A similar cordon was evident at the nearby Marriott, the imposing grey accommodation on the city’s north-east fringe.

Security is front of mind for officials. Top hotels across the country have been a frequent target for militancy in the past, with the Islamabad Marriott shaken by a deadly bombing in 2008 during a particularly violent spell of attacks in the capital that were brought to an end a decade later by a military campaign.

In February, Islamabad residents were rattled by a suicide bomb that killed dozens at a major mosque, shattering a long stretch of calm.

Pakistan’s security forces are battling domestic insurgencies on its north-eastern and south-western borders, and is itself observing a ceasefire following a clash with Afghanistan. 

Pakistan is no stranger to playing middleman to history.

In July 1971, when then US President Richard Nixon and his National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger were quietly planning a surprise rapprochement with China, Mr Kissinger feigned illness on a visit to Pakistan – an American ally in the Cold War – as cover for a secret trip to Beijing. 

After the Sept 11, 2001, attacks, legions of foreign journalists from CNN to the BBC descended on Islamabad, overwhelming the Marriott and the Holiday Inn, to observe the US preparations for war in Afghanistan.

Foreign TV networks took over hotel rooftops for live transmissions, with some venues demanding US$500 a day for the service. 

As yet another neighbour finds itself in the crosshairs of the US, Islamabad is once again centre stage. BLOOMBERG