Pakistan has emerged as an unlikely intermediary between Iran and the United States, after leading efforts to secure a fragile ceasefire and now hosting high-stakes peace talks in its capital, Islamabad.
Weeks of war in the Middle East have left thousands dead and roiled global energy markets, but hope for an end to the conflict emerged on Wednesday after both sides agreed to temporarily suspend attacks.
Pakistan, which had been acting as an intermediary between the US and Iran for several weeks, was credited for the truce, with US President Donald Trump saying conversations with senior Pakistani officials had precipitated the two-week pause.
Now Islamabad is in lockdown ahead of the weekend's peace talks, with armed security personnel in military gear on patrol and traffic diversions and police checkpoints in place.
The talks are expected to be indirect, with the Iranian and US delegations in separate rooms and Pakistani officials shuttling proposals between them — a format used in mediation rounds between the two nations facilitated by Oman before the war.
The US delegation in Islamabad will include vice president JD Vance, special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — the latter of whom is Trump's son-in-law.
It makes it the most senior US engagement with Iran since former secretary of state John Kerry negotiated the significant 2015 nuclear deal that Trump withdrew the US from in 2018.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf are expected to lead Iran's delegation.
Witkoff and Aragchi participated in multiple rounds of Oman-mediated talks before the US and Israel initiated the war on 28 February with strikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Pakistan's key relationships
Pakistan's clout as a mediator stems from its unusually wide diplomatic network.
It has cultivated strong links with Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and China — with Trump and Pakistani officials crediting China for helping to bring Iran to the negotiating table.
It's also improved ties with the US, with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir forming a close relationship with Trump, accepting an invitation to visit him at the White House last year.
Pakistan also shares a 900km border and deep historical, cultural and religious ties with Iran. It's home to more than 20 million Shia Muslims, the world's second-largest such population after Iran.
Stuti Bhatnagar, a lecturer in Indo-Pacific Studies at UNSW Canberra, told SBS News that Pakistan was "situated quite centrally in this conflict, geographically as well as geopolitically".
"It's kind of found itself in the right place at the right time," she said.
However, Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, the actions of which remain an important part of any attempt to secure peace in the region, with Iran demanding that the truce is conditional on Israel ceasing strikes in Lebanon, a demand that Israel and the US have pushed back on.
High stakes for all parties
Pakistan also has a clear stake in the outcome, with the conflict in the region carrying significant security and economic risks.
It imports the large majority of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively choked off in retaliation against US and Israeli aggression.
It also shares a defence agreement with Saudi Arabia, under which aggression against one country is considered aggression against both.
Iranian drone and missile strikes have targeted energy infrastructure in Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, as part of a broader campaign targeting US allies in the region and disrupting global oil trade.
Like other Gulf states, Saudi Arabia has so far avoided directly joining the war for fear of further escalation from Iran.
"If the Saudis decided to get aggressive in this war, the Pakistanis would have to side with the Saudis, which would have put it in a very difficult position in the region with Iran," Bhatnagar said.
Mansoor Ahmed, an honorary lecturer in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University, told SBS News Pakistan's role as a mediator was the result of several converging factors.
"[It has] goodwill with all the main players all at the same time, enhanced strategic leverage and influence — especially in the wake of the India-Pakistan conflict of May — and direct stakes in ensuring that the conflict doesn't really escalate," he said.
What about other mediators in the region?
Along with Oman, Qatar has a long track record of mediating between adversaries in the region, playing a key behind-the-scenes role in previous negotiations between the US and Iran, including a 2023 prisoner swap deal.
However, it has reportedly been reluctant to take on a central mediating role in the current conflict.
Like other Gulf states, Qatar has faced attacks on its energy infrastructure during the war — from both Iran and Israel.
According to Ahmed, it also lacks the particular set of relationships that Pakistan has cultivated.
"Qatar doesn't have that kind of strategic partnership and relationship with Saudi Arabia, and with Türkiye and with China, and the US and Iran all at the same time," he said.
Bhatnagar said there had also been a breakdown of trust in the region.
"Iran has not attacked Oman directly, so there's some respect there. But Qatar and all the other Gulf Cooperation Council countries have actually faced the brunt of Iranian attacks in this war."
— With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse.
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