The streets of Islamabad have been emptied by a sudden two-day public holiday, declared to enforce a strict security lockdown in the Pakistani capital.
Behind the barricades, diplomatic activity is operating at a fever pitch as the world holds its breath for this weekend’s make-or-break ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran.
Pakistan, a nation more frequently making international headlines for its heightened militancy and shaky economy, is hosting the first direct talks between Washington and Tehran, working to end a weeks-long war that has left thousands dead and sent shockwaves across the globe.
It is a stunning pivot for a country historically viewed through the lens of deep security concerns. The breakthrough underscores just how much Islamabad’s relationship with the White House has evolved since President Donald Trump’s first term, when he accused Pakistan of giving Washington “nothing but lies and deceit.”
Vice President JD Vance along with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to attend this weekend’s talks, with Vance the most senior US official to visit Pakistan since 2011.
Analysts attribute this transformation to a combination of geographic necessity, deft diplomacy, and shifting regional alliances. Together, these factors have transformed Pakistan into an indispensable mediator, elevating the country’s profile on the global stage. “The fact that Pakistan was able to pull this diplomatic breakthrough at the last minute definitely earns it a lot of credibility,” said Farwa Aamer, director of South Asia Initiatives at the Asia Policy Institute.
“Pakistan’s proactive facilitation efforts and success puts it on the map as a player who is showing agency,” Aamer said, establishing Islamabad as “an active stakeholder in how the future of the broader region will look like.” The killing by US Special Forces in 2011 of Osama Bin Laden, who was discovered hiding about one mile from the Pakistan Military Academy in Abbottabad hugely embarrassed Pakistan’s military. It also sparked significant criticism among many US politicians over Washington’s military support for Islamabad, including from Trump who frequently accused Pakistan’s military of sheltering the Al Qaeda leader.
Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden never called either of the two Pakistani prime ministers who served during his term.
“Pakistan was really a sort of pariah state,” said political scientist Aqil Shah, from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. “The Biden administration didn’t really engage it; there was no concrete strategic interest.”
Source: Here