In moments of international crisis, diplomacy often turns not to the loudest powers, but to the states that can still speak to everyone. That is why Pakistan’s emergence as a host and facilitator in talks between the United States and Iran deserves closer attention. Islamabad may not command the economic weight of Washington, Beijing or Brussels, but it possesses something equally valuable in a fractured region: access, credibility and strategic necessity.

The first round of talks between the US and Iran, reportedly supported through Pakistani channels, was significant less for any breakthrough than for the fact that it happened at all. In today’s Middle East, where mistrust runs deeper than pipelines and old grievances harden into doctrine, getting adversaries into the same diplomatic process is itself an achievement. Pakistan helped create that opening.

This should not be surprising. Pakistan occupies a unique geopolitical position. It is a Muslim-majority nuclear power with deep historical links across the Gulf, longstanding ties with Washington, a working border relationship with Iran, and close defence partnerships with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies. Few countries can maintain functional relations with all sides simultaneously. Fewer still can do so while carrying weight in the wider Islamic world.

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