Pakistan flags Iran talks role

Pakistan cast its role in United States-Iran talks as an economic one, with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar saying the outcome would affect shipping, oil and the wider global economy. (wusf.org) Dar has spent the past two weeks presenting Islamabad as a channel both Washington and Tehran trust, after Pakistan helped broker a two-week ceasefire announced on April 8. United States Vice President J.D. Vance and Iranian representatives then met in Islamabad on April 11 for roughly 21 hours of talks that ended without a final agreement. (cnbc.com) (apnews.com) The immediate dispute is the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Gulf that carries a large share of the world’s seaborne oil and liquefied natural gas. President Donald Trump said the ceasefire required the “complete, immediate, and safe opening” of the strait, while Iranian officials said passage would depend on military coordination and technical limits. (cnbc.com) Pakistan’s argument is that this is not only a regional war issue. Reuters reported on April 11 that Dar told reporters “the whole world has a stake” because disrupted sea lanes and higher energy costs were already spilling into the global economy. (msn.com) That framing fits the market reaction since the ceasefire was announced. Oil fell below $100 a barrel after the April 8 truce, but CNBC reported prices were still far above the roughly $70 level seen before the war. (cnbc.com) Pakistan also has its own reasons to keep the mediation alive. The New York Times reported that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, facing a weak economy and security strains at home, sees the talks as a chance to raise Pakistan’s diplomatic profile with Washington, Gulf states and China at the same time. (nytimes.com) The talks are fragile because the ceasefire is fragile. After the truce took effect at 8 p.m. Eastern time on April 7, missiles were still launched from Iran toward Israel and Gulf states, and both sides kept accusing the other of violations before the Islamabad meeting opened. (cnbc.com) (apnews.com) Regional players have backed Pakistan’s effort in part because maritime traffic is the quickest confidence-building measure on the table. Reuters reported in late March that ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey met in Islamabad to discuss proposals tied to reopening Hormuz and stabilizing shipping flows. (straitstimes.com) No side left Islamabad on April 11 claiming a deal, but no side walked away from the channel either. For Pakistan, that keeps Dar’s central point alive: as long as Hormuz and the ceasefire remain unresolved, the talks are about freight rates and fuel prices as much as they are about diplomacy. (apnews.com)