The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt are heading to Islamabad for crisis talks this weekend as the Middle East conflict spirals.
Pakistan will host “de-escalation talks” as Islamabad steps into an unexpected peacemaking role in the Middle East crisis.
The two-day meeting starting Sunday caps a frenetic week of diplomatic mediation by Pakistan, which is casting itself as a neutral go-between between Washington and Tehran.
Foreign ministers from the four countries will hold "in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region," Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.
Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, said the talks would aim to create a route for de-escalation. “We would discuss where the negotiations in this war are heading and how these four countries assess the situation and what can be done," he told Turkish media.
All four countries have strong incentives to contain the conflict, given their exposure to disruptions in oil supplies, particularly through the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar has been caught up in a blur of calls and meetings in the last few days, speaking with China’s foreign minister Wang Yi, the EU’s Kaja Kallas, Turkey’s Fidan and counterparts in Egypt and Jordan, as well as the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, while also hosting envoys in Islamabad including the British high commissioner and the Chinese ambassador.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also been working the phones, holding multiple conversations with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to the Financial Times, as well as speaking with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Alongside this diplomatic push, Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir has focused on maintaining direct lines of communication with Donald Trump, underscoring the military’s heavy hand in foreign policy.
Pakistan's rise on world stage
Pakistan’s front-and-centre role in attempting to de-escalate the crisis marks a notable shift from its international pariah status when US President Joe Biden was in office. It moved quickly to rebuild ties with Washington after Trump returned to power in January 2024, cultivating the president and his inner circle.
Trump has repeatedly described Pakistan as “an important partner” on issues ranging from counterterrorism to regional stability. He has also described Munir as, “My favourite general”.
India has been watching from the sidelines, with officials sceptical of Pakistan styling itself as a mediator. Former foreign secretary Nirupama Menon Rao told The New York Times: “Much is being made of Pakistan emerging as a US-Iran interlocutor. This is not new. Pakistan has often been used as a conduit when direct engagement becomes difficult. But a conduit carries messages, it does not define outcomes.”
External affairs minister S. Jaishankar said it was not India’s role to be a go-between. “We don’t run around asking countries what kind of dalali [brokerage] we can do,” he was reported to have told an all-party meeting.
Pakistan’s emergence at the centre of high-level diplomacy reflects a shrinking pool of viable intermediaries, as Gulf states have become frontline countries in the conflict. Only a handful of countries, including Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt, retain access to both sides.
Sharif this week declared Pakistan “prepared and honoured” to facilitate “meaningful and conclusive talks between the US and Iran if both parties agreed.”
Islamabad has relayed a 15-point US ceasefire proposal, which includes demands to dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme and hand over control of the strait, which Tehran rejected. Despite Iran’s public denials, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff says “strong and positive messages” have been exchanged between Tehran and Washington via Pakistani channels.
Pakistan has played such messenger roles before. In 1971 it served as a discreet intermediary between Washington and Beijing, enabling Henry Kissinger’s visit to China and helping pave the way for Sino-US relations.
Since Trump’s return, Islamabad has adroitly aligned itself with his more transactional style of diplomacy, hiring lobbyists with close ties to the administration and pursuing investment opportunities including a US-backed mining project, though there are big questions now about whether the Reko Diq copper project will ever see the light of day.
Trump’s son-in-law and envoy, Jared Kushner, described that approach bluntly: “It’s just different being deal guys, just a different sport.”
That overlap between diplomacy and business was evident earlier this year at the launch of Trump’s “Board of Peace”, where Witkoff outlined plans to explore redevelopment of the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, a Pakistani-owned property, as a joint venture.
Islamabad earned its biggest brownie points with Trump last May when it credited him with brokering a ceasefire in the four-day war with India and nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Ladling out the praise, it hailed “his decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership.”
Irritating Trump, India has repeatedly and publicly rejected that claim, even as Trump has continued to insist he pulled the nuclear-armed neighbours back from the brink of “catastrophe”.
India, with nearly 10 million citizens in the Gulf sending home $45-50 billion in remittances, is walking a tightrope in the Middle East, maintaining ties with Iran while seeking to avoid annoying Trump.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to both Iran’s president and Trump, urging a peaceful resolution and calling the situation “a grave concern”, while steering clear of criticism of US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
For Pakistan, widely seen as an economic basket case and politically unstable, the moment offers a chance to gain diplomatic status.
Even so, Pakistan officials are being cautious not to promise too much. “Our endeavour is a process,” said foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi.
Beyond burnishing its diplomatic credentials, Pakistan has strong domestic reasons to push for de-escalation. It shares a 900-km border with Iran and has the second-largest Shia Muslim population after Iran, raising the risk of religious tensions if the war widens.
It also signed a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia last year. With the kingdom already under Iranian attack – at least 15 US troops were wounded in an Iranian strike on a Saudi airbase on Friday – a broader conflict could draw Islamabad into a war it is most keen to avoid.