In the aftermath of the ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran, a powerful international narrative is taking shape. Driven largely by Chinese and Turkish and to some extent the US circles, it seeks to project Pakistan as the unexpected winner of the crisis: the one country trusted simultaneously by Washington, Tel Aviv, Tehran and the Gulf monarchies.

According to this version, Pakistan emerged as a skilled mediator that quietly negotiated the ceasefire while India remained on the sidelines.

The reality is very different.

Pakistan did not broker the ceasefire. At best, it acted as a courier, carrying messages between different actors. It neither framed the terms of the agreement nor possessed the leverage to shape its outcome.

In fact, Islamabad quickly exposed the limits of its influence. Pakistani officials prematurely announced that Lebanon would also be included in the ceasefire arrangement. That implied that Israel would halt operations against Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group in Lebanon that continued targeting Israel throughout the conflict.

The announcement turned out to be inaccurate. Pakistan had no authority from either Israel or the United States to make such a claim. Far from proving its importance, the episode underlined how little actual influence Islamabad possessed.

The larger problem for Pakistan is that, by trying to please everyone, it has ended up alienating all sides.

Iran increasingly sees Pakistan as little more than a dependent state working on behalf of the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Tehran has long distrusted Islamabad because of Pakistan’s close security ties with Washington and the Gulf monarchies.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia and the UAE........

© Blitz