Pak steps up diplomatic engagement with Iran

Islamabad, Aug 5:

Pakistan has stepped up its diplomatic engagement with Iran, with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar inviting his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi to Islamabad “at the earliest” for discussions.

The invitation, according to top officials familiar with the outreach, signals Islamabad’s determination to remain a key diplomatic bridge between Tehran and Washington.

It came two days after US President Donald Trump called off planned military strikes against Iran following appeals from key regional allies.

However, Iran’s response to the invitation is not immediately known.

“Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 spoke today with the Foreign Minister of Iran, Seyyed Abbas Araghchi. They exchanged views on regional and international developments, including the deteriorating situation in Occupied East Jerusalem,” the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a post on X on Monday.

It further said, “DPM/FM (Dar) invited Foreign Minister Araghchi to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience.”

Separately, Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has reportedly invited his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to Islamabad.

“Through the latest outreach, Pakistan is seeking to reinforce its position as a trusted intermediary at a time when diplomatic efforts remain fragile and the prospect of another military confrontation continues to loom over the Gulf,” a senior Pakistani government official told PTI on Tuesday.

Both Araghchi and Ghalibaf played prominent roles in the recent US-Iran negotiations.

The official further said that Pakistan is currently keeping a “relatively low profile” to ease the tensions. He added, “Let me tell you… diplomatic engagement has continued behind the scenes.”

In June, the US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aimed at bringing peace in West Asia. Pakistan also signed the document as a “guarantor”.

Pakistan had hosted peace talks in April and attended as a mediator another round of technical-level talks held in Switzerland, days after the signing of the MoU.

The negotiations collapsed in early July with renewed military strikes amid mutual accusations of agreement violations and deadlocked demands over the Strait of Hormuz – the Gulf chokepoint through which about a fifth of the world’s energy supplies passed in peacetime.

Islamabad’s latest diplomatic outreach comes amid renewed uncertainty over US-Iran diplomacy.

On Monday, Trump accused Iran’s leadership of being “unbelievably duplicitous” after Tehran denied that negotiations with Washington were underway.

He insisted talks with Iran were ongoing, while Iranian officials maintained that no negotiations with the US were taking place or scheduled.

A day earlier, the US President said he had suspended planned military strikes on Iran after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the leaders of Qatar and the UAE urged him to allow more time for negotiations.

He did not specifically list Pakistan as a mediator in his remarks.

However, Tehran continues to publicly acknowledge Islamabad’s role as mediator. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghei said on Monday that Pakistan remained “the mediator in the discussions related to Iran and the US”, while Qatar was facilitating the process whenever required.

“To say that we have added a new mediator to the existing mediators is not, in the strict sense of the word, the case,” he added.