Islamabad has reportedly switched to lower-profile role but believes peace can make progress without face-to-face meetings
Pakistan is passing proposals between Iran and the US to keep talks alive behind the scenes and inch towards a peace agreement, officials and experts say.
Pakistani officials say that they are conscious of the fact that at stake is not only regional peace, but the health of the global economy and the livelihoods of millions of the poorest people in the world – including in Pakistan, whose monthly energy import bill has almost tripled as a result of the war.
Islamabad views the continuation of the ceasefire, in place for more than three weeks, as a major achievement. Tehran and Washington have said Pakistan remains the primary conduit for negotiation, and Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said on Wednesday he had been promised a revised offer from Iran to pass on.
Pakistan’s role switched in recent days to a lower-profile but urgent task of running a backchannel, after momentum behind direct talks stalled. Islamabad believes the peace process can still make progress without a face-to-face meeting.
