One month into the Iran war, as military escalation widens across theatres, Islamabad has emerged as an unlikely but central node of diplomacy.

Four foreign ministers met in the Pakistani capital on 27–28 March to keep a channel open between Washington and Tehran. Pakistan’s Ishaq Dar hosted Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Türkiye’s Hakan Fidan, and Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty, building on earlier coordination in Riyadh. But what began as indirect exchanges has now moved a step further.

Islamabad is set to host Pakistan-facilitated direct talks between US and Iranian representatives, marking a shift from message-passing to potential face-to-face negotiation.

This comes even as the conflict expands. The Houthis have widened the theatre into the Red Sea, US deployments have surged, Israeli strikes inside Iran continue, and Tehran has tightened its grip over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Escalation and diplomacy are advancing in parallel.

The diplomatic track itself has structure. A 15-point US framework, transmitted to Tehran through Pakistan, outlined de-escalation steps and longer-term guarantees. Iran rejected it, offering its own conditions—cessation of strikes, credible guarantees and........

© The Friday Times