Pakistan cast itself as an unlikely diplomatic broker this week, saying it had helped secure a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States in the bloody Gulf conflict. While most of the world has welcomed it, the Indian reaction has been lukewarm. It hardly expected to see its arch-rival playing the role it could, if things go according to plan 

With Pakistan emerging as a key intermediary between Iran and the US to secure a temporary ceasefire and host negotiations to end the Iran war, Islamabad has emerged as an unlikely peacemaker.  

While the unfolding peace process ahead remains far from clear, what appears indisputable is the country’s status – from an international pariah to a global peacemaker. Pakistan cast itself as an unlikely diplomatic broker this week, saying it had helped secure a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said he would host talks in Islamabad aimed at ending the Middle East war  beginning this week. 

“Pakistan achieved one of its biggest diplomatic wins in years,” said South Asia expert Michael Kugelman in an X post, adding, “”It also defied many sceptics and naysayers that didn’t think it had the capacity to pull off such a complex, high-stakes feat.”

During a call last week with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian praised Pakistan’s peace efforts but stressed “the need to build trust,” according to a Pakistani readout of the call.

Noted Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP and former UN diplomat, in an Indian Express column: “In the volatile theatre of West Asian geopolitics, the script has taken an improbable turn. For decades, the corridors of power in Washington and Tehran were paved with mutual suspicion, separated by a chasm that no amount of traditional diplomacy could bridge. Yet, as the 2026 Iran-US conflict reaches a fever pitch, the most consequential diplomatic bridge is being built not in Geneva or Doha, but in Islamabad, where negotiations begin on Friday.’’

While most countries around the world heaved a sigh of collective relief, because a ceasefire would stabilise the oil markets and prevent the war from spreading, the feelings in India, Pakistan’s arch-rival, were mixed. New Delhi welcomed the peace accord in very general terms — emphasising dialogue, restraint, and diplomacy — without any appreciation of Islamabad’s mediatory role. 

Some believe that acknowledging Pakistan’s role would have impacted India’s diplomatic positioning adversely as the leader of the Global South; India, as chairman of BRICS, also did not formally urge for peace, much less condemn the unprovoked attack on Iran. 

There are other factors as well, which are not going to please India too much. While Pakistan emerged as the frontline, visible facilitator, reports suggest that its biggest rival in the region, China, was the behind-the-scenes force that encouraged Iran to........

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