Twenty-one hours of talks in Islamabad ended Sunday morning with no deal between the United States and Iran. Hours later, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stood before reporters and asked both sides to hold the line on the ceasefire.
“It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire,” Dar said. The truce is a fragile two-week one, brokered earlier in the week, and Pakistan hosted the talks under it.
Who was in the room
US Vice President JD Vance led the American side, joined by Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf headed the Iranian delegation. The talks began Saturday. Vance told a news conference that no agreement had been reached, then left Pakistan almost an hour later.
Dar described Pakistan’s own work over those hours. He and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, the Chief of Defence Forces and army chief, “helped mediate several rounds of intense and constructive negotiations between the two sides that continued over the last 24 hours and ended this morning,” he said.
Pakistan stays in the middle
Dar thanked both delegations for their participation and for recognising what Pakistan had done to help secure the ceasefire. He also thanked Washington and Tehran for answering Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s call for an immediate ceasefire and for accepting his invitation to peace talks in Islamabad.
The talks may be over, but the mediation is not, he said. “Pakistan has been and will continue to play its role to facilitate engagement and dialogue between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America in the days to come.”
His closing hope was for the two sides to “continue with the positive spirit to achieve durable peace and prosperity for the entire region and beyond.”
Sources
- Pakistan urges US, Iran to uphold ceasefire as Islamabad talks end without deal – Türkiye Today
- TRT World – It is imperative US, Iran continue to uphold ceasefire commitments: Pakistan
