Pakistan’s quiet gambit in a volatile US-Iran crisis

https://arab.news/n2sqf

As the dark shadow of recession looms across the globe, and through the billowing smoke of US-Israeli strikes and Iranian counter-attacks, a murky path to diplomacy has begun to emerge. Reportedly, at the center of these backchannel efforts is Pakistan — a country that, over decades, has learnt to function through the fog of war.

Pakistan occupies a unique geopolitical intersection that few nations can claim. As a nuclear-armed power with the world’s second-largest Shiite population, it shares a border and historic ties with Iran. It also facilitates Iran’s consular services in the United States through the Pakistani embassy, as Tehran and Washington have no diplomatic relations.

At the same time, Pakistan maintains storied, if complex, military ties with the United States as a strategic partner — from the Soviet-Afghan war to the hunt for the Taliban. Pakistan’s most influential figure, Field Marshal and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, enjoys a personal rapport with President Donald Trump, who has praised him on several occasions.

Pakistan also has an ideological bond, defense cooperation, and economic reliance on Saudi Arabia, alongside deep-rooted ties with Gulf states, particularly the UAE and Qatar. This places Islamabad in a position few others occupy — able to speak, however cautiously, to all sides.

That positioning is now being put to the test.

 Islamabad is in a position few others occupy — able to speak, however cautiously, to all sides. -Owais Tohid

 Islamabad is in a position few others occupy — able to speak, however cautiously, to all sides.

The warming of ties between........

© Arab News Pakistan