Following conversation with the prime ministers of Malaysia and Pakistan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has thanked the two countries for their cooperation with Tehran.
„I thanked Malaysia for its humanitarian stance and Pakistan for its initiative and effective efforts to reach an agreement,“ Pezeshkian said in a post on X.
During his stay in Beijing, Prime Minister Shehbaz is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in further high-level engagements.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir are in Beijing, China, on Monday (May 25) for talks with Chinese leaders as part of ongoing mediation efforts to formally end the Iran war. On Friday and Saturday, Munir was also in Iran alongside Pakistan‘s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to mediate to formally end the war.
A major diplomatic breakthrough may be unfolding on global stage as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signals that a second round of the highly anticipated “Islamabad Talks” is expected soon, hinting at an intensifying behind-the-scenes effort to cool down tensions between US, and Iran.
Pakistan’s premier reaffirmed to continue its peace efforts with “utmost sincerity,” adding that Islamabad is ready to host the next round of talks “very soon.”
US President Donald Trump has announced a temporary pause of Project Freedom for safe evacuation of stranded ships at the Strait of Hormuz, stating that the great progress has been made to reach a final agreement with Iran.
I express full solidarity with His Highness @MohamedBinZayed
. Pakistan stands firmly with our Emirati brothers and sisters as well as with the Government of the United Arab Emirates at this difficult time. It is absolutely essential that the ceasefire be upheld and respected, to allow necessary diplomatic space for dialogue leading to enduring peace and stability in the region.
ISLAMABAD – Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in what officials described as a crucial round of regional diplomacy involving sensitive international dialogue.
The meeting, held at the Prime Minister’s House, was attended by top national leadership, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
In a message, PM Sharif, both personally and on behalf of Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir, deeply thankful to President Trump for accepting Pakistan’s request to extend the ceasefire. The move, according to the premier, is aimed at keeping diplomatic channels alive and preventing a dangerous return to full-scale conflict.
Sharif stressed that Pakistan, relying on “trust and confidence,” will continue what he described as sincere efforts to support a negotiated settlement to the ongoing regional crisis. He also expressed hope that both conflicting sides will maintain the ceasefire and move constructively toward peace talks.
Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal. I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other. President DONALD J. TRUMP
President Donald Trump says he will extend a ceasefire with Iran until Iran submits a proposal to end the conflict permanently.
“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He said he had directed the American military to “continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able.”
He said the truce, which had been due to expire in the coming hours, would “therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”
ISLAMABAD – Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
According to the Foreign Office spokesperson, Dar emphasized the need for dialogue to ensure peace and stability in the region and to resolve ongoing issues swiftly. Both leaders agreed to remain in close contact.
The spokesperson also said that the two discussed a planned telephone conversation between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Iranian president later in the day.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif landed in Doha on an official visit that drew a grand welcome from Qatari authorities. The premier was warmly received by Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sultan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, along with senior officials and dignitaries.
The premier highlighted the historic round of negotiations held in Islamabad between Washington and Tehran, signaling a potentially transformative shift in regional geopolitics. Saudi Crown Prince praised the efforts, specifically acknowledging the “constructive role” played by Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s Army Chief, Syed Asim Munir, in pushing forward the peace process.
Pakistan suddenly emerged as critical diplomatic epicenter in the escalating crisis. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s simultaneous visit to Saudi Arabia and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir’s arrival in Iran have drawn global attention, with analysts interpreting the timing as part of a coordinated two-pronged diplomatic push aimed at defusing tensions and reviving stalled U.S.–Iran engagement.
On Saturday, Turkish media reported that Saudi Arabia and Qatar will provide Pakistan with $5 billion in financial assistance to help shore up Islamabad‘s dwindling foreign currency reserves, which currently stand at about $16.4 billion.
The development comes as the UAE is requiring Pakistan to repay a $3.5 billion debt by the end of the month.
Pakistan‘s reserves have come under additional pressure recently, thanks to rising costs for imported fuel resulting from the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The Prime Minister contacted his Lebanese counterpart by telephone and strongly condemned Israel’s aggression.
According to a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s House, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam spoke over the phone.
The US-Iran negotiations are set to begin in Islamabad on April 10. Iran’s delegation will be led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, while the US team will include Vice President JD Vance, advisor Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, confirmed White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir reviewed peace efforts before US-Iran talks in Islamabad. The meeting matters as Pakistan mediates rising regional tensions through diplomacy. Regional stakeholders, including the United States, Iran, and neighboring countries, are directly affected by these developments.
Pakistan‘s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that the United States, Iran and their allies had agreed to a ceasefire „everywhere“, including Lebanon, following mediation by his government to stop weeks of fighting.
„I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY,“ Sharif posted on X.
(5:43 pm / Pakistan timezone)
After the United States announced a ceasefire, Iran has confirmed it will reopen the Strait of Hormuz for all vessels for a period of two weeks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking on behalf of the Supreme National Security Council, thanked Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir for their active role in facilitating the ceasefire and easing regional tensions.
On behalf of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi expressed gratitude to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir for their “tireless efforts to end the war in the region.”
Araghchi confirmed that if attacks against Iran are suspended, the country’s “Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations” for two weeks. During this period, safe passage through the strategic Strait of Hormuz will be ensured in coordination with Iran’s military, taking technical limitations into account.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says he has spoken with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising his country’s help in bringing peace to the region.
“We discussed the grave situation in the Gulf region and agreed on the urgent need for de-escalation, dialogue, and diplomacy,” Sharif said in a social media post.
The agreement states that an attack against one country will be considered an attack against both.
This landmark pact is considered a revolutionary step, solidifying the depth of the strategic partnership and defense cooperation between the two nations. Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir played a key role in the successful finalization of the agreement.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif embrace each other on the day they sign a defence agreement, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 17, 2025.
It is election day in Pakistan. But in the world’s fifth largest democracy, people are not able to vote for the most popular leader, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who cannot contest elections after having been disbarred. Khan will spend today – and potentially 14 more years – in jail. So how did the situation get so bad and what lies ahead?
Khan and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), are leading in opinion surveys, but their electoral symbol has been banned, and observers are predicting that the vote will be a fait accompli for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N).
(10 Aug 2023)
Khan was sacked from power in April 2022 after he lost a no-confidence vote in parliament. He alleged he knew of the “cypher” while he was in office which, according to him, proved the US hatched a conspiracy with the help of his political opponents and the Pakistani military to remove him.
He later made a U-turn, saying he wants good relations with the US, but continued to blame his successor Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the military for orchestrating his removal.
(09.08.2023)
One month after the meeting with U.S. officials documented in the leaked Pakistani government document, a no-confidence vote was held in Parliament, leading to Khan’s removal from power. The vote is believed to have been organized with the backing of Pakistan’s powerful military. Since that time, Khan and his supporters have been engaged in a struggle with the military and its civilian allies, whom Khan claims engineered his removal from power at the request of the U.S.
The text of the Pakistani cable, produced from the meeting by the ambassador and transmitted to Pakistan, has not previously been published. The cable, known internally as a “cypher,” reveals both the carrots and the sticks that the State Department deployed in its push against Khan, promising warmer relations if Khan was removed, and isolation if he was not.