A police officer walks previous a billboard concerning the US and Iran negotiations, exterior a media facilitation heart in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, April 11, 2026.
Anjum Naveed/AP
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Anjum Naveed/AP
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, is about to host peace talks as we speak with negotiators from Iran and the US, together with Vice President J.D. Vance. It is the fruits of weeks of frantic diplomacy by Pakistan’s leaders, who pitched the town because the venue for talks even earlier than they took the lead as a key mediator that each the U.S. and Iran credited for serving to dealer a two-week ceasefire.
The assembly has put Pakistan on the heart of the largest story on the earth, spotlighting its usually sleepy capital that has been getting ready for days for high-profile delegations to reach. Forward of the talks, many in Islamabad have been nonetheless making an attempt to get their heads round the truth that their nation’s diplomatic efforts truly labored. “I’m a bit surprised,” says 19-year-old Khizra Zaheer, standing in a car parking zone of a buying space close to the middle of the town. “When did Pakistan get so influential?”
That has been a central query previously three weeks as Pakistan transitioned from a quiet go-between to an lively participant in negotiations between the US and Iran, pulling in leaders from Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and China to help its peace efforts earlier than placing ahead a ceasefire plan. The true significance of Pakistan’s intervention solely turned clear when each side agreed to a pause shortly after a down-to-the-wire plea from the nation’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif.
President Trump and Iran’s overseas ministry went on to call Sharif and Pakistani military chief Asim Munir, of their ceasefire bulletins. “That was a very rare concurrence, because no other country enjoyed the same kind of trust from both parties,” says Rasheed Wali Janjua, director of analysis on the Islamabad Coverage Analysis Institute, a nationwide safety think-tank. “It’s a fair assessment to say that both parties are looking for a way out.”
Vice President JD Vance walks to talk with the Press earlier than boarding Air Power Two, Friday, April 10, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., for anticipated departure to Pakistan, for talks on Iran.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
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Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Now, Pakistan faces one other tough process throughout its Islamabad talks: making an attempt to get them to achieve an settlement that may flip a fragile ceasefire into one thing that lasts. If the talks succeed, it might result in “radically changed perceptions of Pakistan” on the earth, says Ishtiaq Ahmad, professor emeritus at Quaid-i-Azam College in Islamabad. That international relevance, particularly within the eyes of the US, is one thing that Pakistan has pushed for, even because it has struggled with political and financial volatility at dwelling. “There is a disconnect between Pakistan’s diplomatic achievement and the situation back home,” Ahmad says.
There are additionally potential sticking factors for the Islamabad talks that might derail Pakistan’s capability to behave as a dealer of lasting peace, together with the Strait of Hormuz and Lebanon – which has come below Israeli assault even after Sharif declared it was lined by the ceasefire. Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam sought Pakistan’s assist instantly on Thursday to carry an finish to those assaults.
Daniel Markey, a senior fellow with the South Asia program on the Stimson Middle, says Pakistan’s political management would not see Israel as “a force that it wants to reckon with,” partly as a result of its insurance policies are deeply unpopular there. Islamabad doesn’t acknowledge Israel diplomatically, and any indicators previously of that political chill easing have been met with public fury.
So, talks in Islamabad have as a substitute centered on dialogue between the US and Iran. The U.S. delegation, led by J.D. Vance, and Iran’s delegation, led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and overseas minister Abbas Araghchi, arrived within the capital Saturday. Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and overseas minister, Ishaq Dar, are anticipated to facilitate the talks.
Law enforcement officials take place in Islamabad, Pakistan, to make sure safety forward of attainable negotiations between Iran and the US, Friday, April 10, 2026.
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They, together with Pakistan’s military chief Asim Munir and intelligence chief turned Nationwide Safety Advisor, Asim Malik, have been predominant gamers within the nation’s diplomatic efforts – the official particulars of which have been saved below tight wraps till a ceasefire was introduced. The precise plan for Saturday’s assembly has additionally been closely guarded, even up till the morning it’s set to happen.
Residents of Islamabad have as a substitute been left studying between the strains in regards to the function their metropolis will play. Earlier this week, a five-star resort in Islamabad was cleared of its visitors for “an important event,” and the federal government declared a two-day vacation on Thursday and Friday, with out offering a cause. A extra decisive nod to the “Islamabad Talks” is a slew of billboards which have quietly popped up across the metropolis exhibiting Iranian, American, and Pakistani flags aspect by aspect.
Islamabad was in some ways constructed for a second like this; It is a authorities metropolis organized in a neat rectangle that has all main roads resulting in the Crimson Zone, a diplomatic sector housing authorities buildings and most embassies, which repeatedly will get cordoned off with hulking delivery containers throughout moments of heightened safety.
On Friday earlier than the talks, the same old containers have been absent, however there have been different indicators that one thing is underfoot in Islamabad: strains of barbed wire, concrete boundaries, and police vehicles blocking roads – forcing diversions that left commuters stranded. Vehicles careened the incorrect means on main highways to keep away from visitors jams, and police frantically waved down their drivers to show them again the place they got here from.
Muhammad Waseem, 43, stood on the aspect of a blocked street along with his son, looking for a motorcycle rider who would choose them up and convey them dwelling. He stated the inconvenience is a small value to pay for Pakistan’s function within the peace course of.
“Peace talks are going on, so for this we should compromise.”
