The sun burns bright in Lucerne. Prospects of talks here have also brightened in the last few hours. Where do things go from here?

This Swiss city by the lake is brimming with tourists this time of the year. Men and women of all ages clad in shorts, shades and hats crowd neat streets and throng expensive eateries (there are few cheap ones). Lush green mountains surrounding the city beckon hikers. Those preferring less active holiday opt for a lazy cruise on Lake Lucerne. Very few are aware that only a few kilometres from here, the fate of the largest war of our times is being decided.

The much-hyped signing ceremony on Friday did not take place because one or both parties to the conflict were unsure of the optics it would generate. We know that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was all set to fly down here as the host of the event. Advance teams from the United States, Iran and Pakistan had already arrived a few days earlier. The mountain-top resort of Burgenstock was all readied and decked up for the guests. And yet, last minute hiccups persisted.

It was when I landed in Doha Thursday morning en route to Zurich that I first heard about complications in the plan. A very senior government person messaged me to say that Pakistan was trying to iron out these last-minute wrinkles. Things could go either way. By the time our flight........

© The Express Tribune