Apr 09, 2026 20:43 pm IST

Opinion | The Real Reason China Stayed 'Quiet' About Its US-Iran Ceasefire Role

Beijing may have opted for a very quiet entry into the mediation, with Pakistan apparently fronting the whole exercise.

Tara Kartha Tara Kartha Columnist

Tara Kartha Columnist

Pakistan's media is ecstatic. After all, it was the country's apparent mediation that paused a disastrous war, and it is probably going to host the first delegation as early as next week. This is Pakistan's moment in the sun, or so it seems. But a tweet posted by the Prime Minister exposed embarrassingly enough that there might have literally been a US handle working the mediation machine. Standing quietly in the shadows is China. Its Foreign Minister has been busy, having made some 26 calls recently. It is also to host the US President soon. Meanwhile, Trump acknowledged Beijing's intervention in a single line. That counts for something. From this mess, some will emerge as winners. Others will scramble to clean up the dust.

The Key Motivation To Mediate

At first sight, Pakistan's diplomatic cup seems to be overflowing. Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has expressed gratitude and appreciation on X for the ‘brotherly country' of Pakistan, though not just praising Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif but also Field Marshal Asim Munir. That should cloud the former's already knitted brow a bit. But Munir has apparently been working the lines the whole night, talking to the US and Iranian negotiators, all of which adds considerably to his stature. That's a big plus for his longevity in a country where former political heads or even army chiefs have had a sticky end. Consider that former Chief of Army Staff Javed Bajwa died un-mourned and mysteriously recently. 

The biggest win for Munir, and for his country, however, cannot be publicised. And that is, keeping Pakistan out of the Iran-Saudi war, and thereby sliding out of implementing last year's ‘Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement'. That was a black-and-white commitment that required Islamabad to aid........

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