Pakistan's diplomatic image-building peaked when a 300-member US delegation and a 71-member Iranian delegation arrived in Pakistan on 11 April 2026 to seek a resolution to the US-Iran war. The sudden shift from being seen as a dangerous or hard country to becoming a vital peacemaker on the global stage was indeed a great achievement for Pakistan. The 21-hour 'Islamabad Peace Talks' that resulted in the 'Islamabad MoU' were brokered by Pakistan and facilitated by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt. The resulting ceasefire and a 60-day deadline for the US and Iran to negotiate a final deal were a big diplomatic achievement. However, the ceasefire ended on 8 July as Iran attacked commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and the US responded by striking Iranian territory. Today we are well past 17 August, the 60-day deadline for Iran and the US to negotiate a final deal, and given the recent commencement of more frequent strikes, this war seems to be taking on a momentum of its own, giving little impression that mediation in any form survives.

History tells us that there is nothing such as an ideal mediator, and in a given conflict the continuous involvement of a mediator may not even be necessary. Pakistan is in the American bloc, and Iran is known for its anti-Americanism; still, the Iranians believed in Pakistan's impartiality on the issue and also believed that Pakistan would deliver on the negotiating table. Egyptians also accepted the American mediation with the Israelis, on similar beliefs, which ended in the Camp David Accords in 1978. Mediators work on different motivations. History reveals that the motives and results of mediation differ when it is undertaken by great powers rather than medium or ordinary powers.........

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