Pakistan hosts U.S.-Iran peace talks after weeks of frantic diplomacy : NPR

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, is ready to host peace talks in the present day with negotiators from Iran and the US, together with Vice President J.D. Vance. It is the fruits of weeks of frantic diplomacy by Pakistan’s leaders, who pitched town because the venue for talks even earlier than they took the lead as a key mediator that each the U.S. and Iran credited for serving to dealer a two-week ceasefire.

The assembly has put Pakistan on the middle of the most important story on the planet, spotlighting its usually sleepy capital that has been getting ready for days for high-profile delegations to reach. Forward of the talks, many in Islamabad have been nonetheless making an attempt to get their heads round the truth that their nation’s diplomatic efforts really labored. “I am a bit stunned,” says 19-year-old Khizra Zaheer, standing in a parking zone of a procuring space close to the middle of town. “When did Pakistan get so influential?”

That has been a central query prior to now three weeks as Pakistan transitioned from a quiet go-between to an lively participant in negotiations between the US and Iran, pulling in leaders from Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and China to assist its peace efforts earlier than placing ahead a ceasefire plan. The true significance of Pakistan’s intervention solely grew to become clear when either side agreed to a pause shortly after a down-to-the-wire plea from the nation’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif.

President Trump and Iran’s international ministry went on to call Sharif and Pakistani military chief Asim Munir, of their ceasefire bulletins. “That was a really uncommon concurrence, as a result of no different nation loved the identical type of belief from each events,” says Rasheed Wali Janjua, director of analysis on the Islamabad Coverage Analysis Institute, a nationwide safety think-tank. “It is a truthful evaluation to say that each events are on the lookout for a manner out.”

Vice President JD Vance walks to talk with the Press earlier than boarding Air Power Two, Friday, April 10, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., for anticipated departure to Pakistan, for talks on Iran.

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Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Now, Pakistan faces one other tough job throughout its Islamabad talks: making an attempt to get them to achieve an settlement that may flip a fragile ceasefire into one thing that lasts. If the talks succeed, it might result in “radically modified perceptions of Pakistan” on the planet, says Ishtiaq Ahmad, professor emeritus at Quaid-i-Azam College in Islamabad. That international relevance, particularly within the eyes of the US, is one thing that Pakistan has pushed for, even because it has struggled with political and financial volatility at dwelling. “There’s a disconnect between Pakistan’s diplomatic achievement and the state of affairs again dwelling,” Ahmad says.

There are additionally potential sticking factors for the Islamabad talks that would derail Pakistan’s potential to behave as a dealer of lasting peace, together with the Strait of Hormuz and Lebanon – which has come underneath Israeli assault even after Sharif declared it was lined by the ceasefire. Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam sought Pakistan’s assist instantly on Thursday to deliver an finish to those assaults.

Daniel Markey, a senior fellow with the South Asia program on the Stimson Heart, says Pakistan’s political management does not see Israel as “a pressure that it desires to reckon with,” partly as a result of its insurance policies are deeply unpopular there. Islamabad doesn’t acknowledge Israel diplomatically, and any indicators prior to now of that political chill easing have been met with public fury.

So, talks in Islamabad have as a substitute targeted on dialogue between america and Iran. The U.S. delegation, led by J.D. Vance, and Iran’s delegation, led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and international minister Abbas Araghchi, arrived within the capital Saturday. Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and international minister, Ishaq Dar, are anticipated to facilitate the talks.

Law enforcement officials take place in Islamabad, Pakistan, to make sure safety forward of doable negotiations between Iran and america, Friday, April 10, 2026.

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Anjum Naveed/AP

They, together with Pakistan’s military chief Asim Munir and intelligence chief turned Nationwide Safety Advisor, Asim Malik, have been primary gamers within the nation’s diplomatic efforts – the official particulars of which have been stored underneath tight wraps till a ceasefire was introduced. The precise plan for Saturday’s assembly has additionally been closely guarded, even up till the morning it’s set to happen.

Residents of Islamabad have as a substitute been left studying between the traces in regards to the position their metropolis will play. Earlier this week, a five-star lodge in Islamabad was cleared of its company for “an vital occasion,” and the federal government declared a two-day vacation on Thursday and Friday, with out offering a motive. A extra decisive nod to the “Islamabad Talks” is a slew of billboards which have quietly popped up across the metropolis exhibiting Iranian, American, and Pakistani flags facet by facet.

Islamabad was in some ways constructed for a second like this; It is a authorities metropolis organized in a neat rectangle that has all main roads resulting in the Crimson Zone, a diplomatic sector housing authorities buildings and most embassies, which repeatedly will get cordoned off with hulking delivery containers throughout moments of heightened safety.

On Friday earlier than the talks, the standard containers have been absent, however there have been different indicators that one thing is underfoot in Islamabad: traces of barbed wire, concrete limitations, and police vehicles blocking roads – forcing diversions that left commuters stranded. Vehicles careened the mistaken manner on main highways to keep away from site visitors jams, and police frantically waved down their drivers to show them again the place they got here from.

Muhammad Waseem, 43, stood on the facet of a blocked highway together with his son, looking for a bike rider who would choose them up and convey them dwelling. He stated the inconvenience is a small worth to pay for Pakistan’s position within the peace course of.

“Peace talks are occurring, so for this we must always compromise.”