What Pakistan Really Gained from Hosting US-Iran Talks

By
Ali Imran
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President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders expressed gratitude to Pakistan for its “extraordinary” efforts in arranging talks between them, even as the two sides concluded their marathon negotiations in Islamabad without an accord.

Vice President JD Vance, who led the American delegation in the historic talks, went a step further, clarifying that “whatever shortcomings [there were] in the negotiations, it wasn’t because of the Pakistanis, who did an amazing job and really tried to help us and the Iranians bridge the gap and get to a deal.”

However, such words were never likely to placate Pakistan’s critics, who from the outset had found it implausible that Islamabad could—or should—secure the distinction of mediating the U.S.-Iran conflict and bring Washington and Tehran—who have not had high-level diplomatic engagement since 1979 and often espouse maximalist positions—to the negotiating table.

Detractors paid little heed to how many lives Pakistan’s role in securing the ceasefire may have saved, coming just over an hour before the deadline set by President Trump for potential U.S. strikes on Iranian infrastructure.

 

Commentators seized on Vance’s statement that the two sides failed to reach agreement on Iran’s renunciation of nuclear weapons ambitions, declaring the talks a failure.

Newspapers splashed blaring headlines such as “Islamabad Talks Collapse,” while ebullient news channel anchors in neighboring India appeared to revel in portraying the outcome as a diplomatic setback for Pakistan.

Many argued that Pakistan’s mediatory role had reached a dead end.

Soon enough, more measured voices began to emerge across airwaves and digital platforms, as analysts—including some in India—offered a more nuanced reading of the remarks by Vance, Trump, and Iranian leaders.

Both Trump and Vance signaled that the door remains open for future rounds of negotiations. Trump told Sunday Morning Futures that the Iranian side “hasn’t left the bargaining table” and predicted that talks could resume, even as he maintained a firm stance on Washington’s core demands, including a complete halt to Iran’s nuclear weapons capability.

“I predict they come back, and they give us everything we want,” Trump said. “I told my people, I want everything. I don’t want 90 percent, I don’t want 95 percent.”

Vance, speaking while en route back to the United States, also indicated that further rounds of talks could follow, noting that Washington had presented Tehran with a proposal.

“We leave here with a very simple proposal—a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it,” the vice president said.

A similar message—that diplomacy is a process, not a one-off event—came from Iran, with its ambassador in Islamabad, Reza Amiri Moghadam, underscoring the point in a post on X.

That was not all.

As Pakistan positioned itself at the center of a diplomatic drive aimed at ending one of the most precarious conflicts in recent history, it received an unprecedented show of international support.

China, major European powers including France and United Kingdom, and influential Muslim-majority nations such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt—along with several African and Asian states—praised Islamabad’s diplomatic initiative.

Pakistan’s Mediation in US–Iran Ceasefire Adds $3 Trillion to Global Markets — Economist

 

Islamabad’s central role as mediator may represent the culmination of years of calibrated diplomacy in a deeply divided global landscape—balancing ties between major powers such as the U.S. and China, while carefully managing relations with both Iran and Saudi Arabia.

This strategic positioning appears to have prepared Pakistani diplomats to navigate the complexities of the Middle East crisis.

Even after the talks concluded without agreement, several countries and international organizations commended Pakistan’s efforts, elevating its stature as a peacemaker—a marked departure from how it was perceived in the not-too-distant past.

Beyond enhancing its diplomatic profile, Pakistan also projected its legitimate security interest in peace and stability—not only in neighboring Iran but across the broader Middle East.

Coinciding with the Islamabad talks, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia activated elements of their mutual defense pact, with Islamabad deploying fighter jets to King Abdulaziz Air Base and stationing around 13,000 troops.

Who would have imagined the sight of Pakistan-flagged ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz at a time when the vital maritime artery was largely off-limits to the rest of the world?

Or Pakistani jets escorting the Iranian delegation’s aircraft through a conflict zone?

The world also witnessed the ripple effects of the Islamabad-proposed ceasefire. Its acceptance by the U.S. and Iran on April 7 added more than $3 trillion to global stock markets, according to economist Atif Mian.

At the same time, Pakistan was able to showcase its broader appeal to the world. While the magnitude of the diplomatic effort may render such gains incidental, countries routinely spend hundreds of millions of dollars to promote their global image and attract tourism.

Yet it is the diplomatic dividend that stands out most. Pakistan has accrued valuable soft power, earning goodwill among countries and observers worldwide.

 

A battle-hardened nation—one that has fought multiple wars and continues to confront militancy—now has an opportunity to leverage this moment to reshape its global image, move beyond perceptions of being solely security-driven, and address longstanding concerns related to human rights and democratic governance.

Ultimately, the Islamabad talks may not have produced an agreement, but they achieved something arguably just as consequential: they repositioned Pakistan as a credible convener of high-stakes diplomacy at a moment of global fracture.

In an era defined by deep mistrust and hardened geopolitical lines, even bringing adversaries to the same table is no small feat.

If Islamabad could build on this momentum with consistency and strategic foresight, it may well have laid the foundation for a more enduring role as a stabilizing force in an increasingly volatile world.

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Ali Imran is a Washington-based journalist, who has worked for leading world news organizations as correspondent, expert and in editorial positions. He is a published author and poet.

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