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How Indian and global media decoded Pakistan’s ‘vested interests’ in US-Iran mediation

‘Islamabad will have to support Riyadh in the event of an Iran-Saudi showdown. That is not in Pakistan’s interest,’ read an article in The Diplomat.

Pakistan is making news all over the world. Not for its violent conflict with Afghanistan, nor for any of its sponsored terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. Not for its bankrupt economy, either.

India’s neighbour has been the talk of leading news media for its proposed role as mediator in the US-Israeli war on Iran.

From daily newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Guardian, and South China Morning Post to top international television news channels such as CNN International, BBC World, Al Jazeera (Qatar), CNA (Singapore), and the German DW, Pakistan grabbed the headlines with its offer to mediate.

Just this week, it hosted foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey on 29 March for what Al Jazeera called a meeting “to prepare ground for de-escalation in the US-Israel war on Iran.”

Then, its busy foreign minister travelled to China to discuss the Gulf War with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. On 31 March, China and Pakistan issued a five-point peace plan.

Such was the potential importance of Pakistan’s insertion into the Middle East conflict that Indian publications also took note. The Hindu, The Hindustan Times, and The Times of India carried commentaries on it, and external affairs minister S Jaishankar calling Pakistan’s role ‘dalaal’ made headlines.

“Impressing domestic constituencies with word play may be politically satisfying…. (But) it shows us Delhi in poor light,” journalist Nirupama Subramaniam wrote in her article in The Tribune.

Indian readers might find Pakistan being praised as a goodwill negotiator galling, given its history of supporting terrorism in........

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