New Delhi: Pakistan found itself at the center of a surprise diplomatic initiative to end the conflict in West Asia, but uncertainty surrounds the move as US and Iranian officials provide conflicting accounts of possible talks aimed at ending hostilities that have lasted for four weeks.
Reports suggest Pakistan could serve as a potential venue for peace talks, which emerged after US President Donald Trump said he had put off threatened strikes on Iranian power plants for five days following 'very good and productive conversations' with Tehran.
The reports further suggest this was the outcome of an initiative pushed by Pakistan along with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye.
Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir spoke to Trump on Sunday, followed by a phone call between Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian the next day.
Senior officials from Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkiye reportedly engaged US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi to pass messages about finding a possible off-ramp.
However, people familiar with the thinking in Islamabad and Tehran said there was no final decision as yet about possible talks aimed at ending the conflict that began with Israel and the US's military strikes on Iran on February 28.
The White House struck a note of caution, indicating that there was no finality as yet about possible peace talks.
