US desperate, Pakistan played? Report says White House forced Pak to reach Iran
US-Iran ceasefire: A report has emerged stating that the White House used Pakistan as a primary channel to reach Iran on a temporary ceasefire. This poses serious questions about Pakistan's independent diplomatic stance, as it suggests that Islamabad was not a neutral broker.
by Zee Media Bureau · Zee NewsUS-Iran ceasefire: Pakistan’s role in mediating the US–Iran ceasefire has come under question. While the temporary cessation of hostilities brought a measure of relief to countries and stakeholders directly and indirectly impacted by the conflict, a recent report suggests that Islamabad may have been pushed by the White House to broker the deal with Tehran.
This comes after US President Donald Trump suspended the "bombing and attack" campaign on Iran, announcing a two-week double-sided ceasefire and saying that the 10-point proposal from Iran was workable.
Even as Pakistan positioned itself as a peacemaker between the US and Iran, a report by the Financial Times, London, said the White House used Islamabad as a primary channel to reach Tehran on the ceasefire. For weeks, the Donald Trump administration reportedly leaned on Pakistan to persuade Iran to accept a pause in fighting in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s positioning as a Muslim-majority neighbour was seen as key to making the US-backed proposal more acceptable to Iran.
The report poses serious questions about Pakistan's independent diplomatic stance as it suggests that Islamabad was not a neutral broker but rather a convenient channel for the US to push the temporary ceasefire deal.
US-Iran ceasefire
According to IANS, as the deadline approached, Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir held calls with US President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and special envoy Steve Witkoff, while Pakistani officials shuttled proposals between Washington and Tehran.
Islamabad transmitted a US-drafted 15-point plan and conveyed Iran’s responses, including five- and 10-point counter-proposals.
Diplomats said Iran gradually became more open to limiting aspects of its nuclear programme, but only after sustained back-channel engagement.
In a different report, The New York Times said that Pakistan’s public messaging was closely aligned with Washington’s position. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s social media appeal seeking an extension of Trump’s deadline was seen and cleared by the White House before it was posted, suggesting deeper coordination than publicly acknowledged, the daily said.
Meanwhile, as per ANI, the diplomatic engagement between the US and Iran is set to take place in Islamabad this weekend, where both sides will hold direct talks aimed at ending weeks of intense hostilities following the outbreak of war.
The US delegation will be led by US Vice President Vance, and the Iranian delegation will be led by Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
(with agencies' inputs)