This piece stems from a recently published op-ed, “Walk on a Tight Rope”, with reference to Pakistan’s untiring and tricky efforts to bring about a ceasefire and facilitate the warring sides to sit in an enabled environment to figure out lasting peace in the Middle East, which is badly impacting the global economy, stability, and peace. Nevertheless, the role of ‘bringing the horses to the water’ has proved to be as problematic as weighing frogs on an open scale. The crept-up novice analysts occupying countless TV screens and social media platforms with their terse commentary on the ongoing events, as well as their textbook speculations, also remind one of ‘frogs at the monsoon pond’.

So far, the hopes of a second round of talks between Iran and USA teams are hanging in the balance. POTUS Trump’s too frequent provocative, confusing, contradictory, and haughty statements and semi-closure of the Gulf for Iranian ships are as troublesome as Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, pride in Persian history, and persistence in clinging to the uranium enrichment/nuclear programme; the rest are details. Israel's spoiler’s role hardly needs a mention with its continued atrocities in Gaza/Palestine and Lebanon, with a firm resolve not to allow Iran to become a nuclear military power, besides totally degrading Iran’s missile and drone........

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