Disquiet in Delhi: How Pakistan emerged as key mediator between US and Iran 

Using its newfound access to the White House since the crypto deals in April and Operation Sindoor in May last year, Islamabad created a space for itself in the highly controlled echelons of the Trump administration.

Both Trump and Iranian Foreign minister Araghchi complimented Pakistan. While Trump attributed the pause to “conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir,” Araghchi expressed “gratitude and appreciation for my dear brothers (Munir and Sharif)…for their tireless efforts to end the war.”

For his part, Sharif thanked China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Qatar for extending “invaluable and all-out support” towards reaching the ceasefire signalling a broad coalition of support. He also thanked “brotherly countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council”, and the US leadership for their “exceptional strategic foresight, sagacity and patience in giving peace a chance”.

Weeks of diplomacy

More than two weeks of “intense, largely unseen diplomacy” preceded the announcement, said leading Pakistan daily Dawn. According to its report, Islamabad moved quickly after the conflict erupted on February 28. Within days of the first strikes, Pak officials began activating diplomatic channels across multiple capitals. “While publicly maintaining neutrality, Pakistan quietly positioned itself as a bridge between Washington and Tehran — two adversaries that do not maintain direct diplomatic relations. Pakistan represents Iran’s interests in Washington, giving it a rare institutional foothold in both capitals,” it said.

The most visible phase of Pakistan’s effort came on March 29-30, the report said, when Foreign Ministers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey met in Islamabad. Led by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, these consultations focused on preventing further military escalation and developing a framework to initiate US-Iran talks.

It envisioned structured negotiations in Islamabad — and while immediate talks did not materialise, Islamabad intensified its outreach rather than scaling it back, the report said.

Munir held conversations with senior US officials, including President Donald Trump and Sharif and Dar spoke with more than a dozen world leaders and senior officials in Washington, Moscow, Beijing, key European capitals, Gulf Cooperation Council states, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The objective was to build “consensus around a limited ceasefire as a first step toward formal negotiations”, the report said.

Pakistani officials remained in contact with Iranian counterparts, including figures linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, ensuring that communication channels stayed open at a time when direct exchanges between Washington and Tehran were severely constrained.

Ceasefire framework

By early April, the report said, Islamabad circulated a “ceasefire framework” proposing an immediate halt to hostilities. This included de-escalation around key maritime routes.

Although delays persisted and differences remained sharp — particularly over regional security arrangements and maritime access — mounting military and political pressure created space for compromise. As deadlines loomed and fears of a broader regional war intensified, Pakistan’s proposal began gaining traction and led to the April 7 ceasefire.

The next phase is expected to begin in Islamabad on April 10, where delegations will explore the contours of a more durable arrangement.

Ever since Trump’s tweet announcing the ceasefire in Op Sindoor in May last year and his repeated claims of mediation — echoed by Pakistan — New Delhi has been wary. There is concern in Delhi that Pakistan — which it has tried to isolate diplomatically — has got a prominent foothold in international diplomatic power corridors.

There is a hard assessment among many quarters that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s uncharacteristic remarks and the choice of language — calling Pakistan a ‘Dalal’ (broker) in the context of the war — was not appropriate.

“If US-Iran talks proceed and there is progress down that very tricky road, involving our allies, it will be hard for India to isolate and paint Pakistan as the villain given our energy needs and our dependence on the region,” said a former diplomat who has served in the Gulf.

The Indian establishment will seek ways to gain some ground by engaging with Washington in the coming weeks and months, as Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has gone to the US and Jaishankar will travel to the UAE on April 11-12.