The state of the world's health is not good. As a turbulent week draws to a close, there are genuine fears that the next few days could see a dangerous move towards escalation in the war on Iran.

And it is visible in Islamabad. If any breakthrough has to happen, it will happen right here. Pakistan is not just in the eye of the diplomatic storm – it is the eye of the storm.

On Saturday Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The official statement informed us that the conversation was a lengthy one – more than an hour. Diplomatic telephone calls do not last this long. There are talking points on both sides and leaders normally follow those points. To speak for an hour, or longer, is unusual. But these are unusual times.

So unusual, in fact, that events are being measured in historical terms. The oil crisis: never seen anything like it in modern time; the scale of the conflict: never seen anything like this since the second world war; Pakistan's mediation role at this level and with such stakes: never seen anything like this since…well, since ever.

So here we are – the Prime Minister, the Field Marshall and the Foreign Minister, all three busy negotiating world peace. If this were not so real, it could have been the plotline for the........

© The Express Tribune