In a stunning diplomatic turn that few analysts had forecast even six months ago, Pakistan has emerged at the very centre of the world’s most consequential geopolitical contest, the standoff between the United States and Iran. At the heart of this transformation stand two men: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir. Together, and with the explicit blessing of US President Donald Trump, they have repositioned Pakistan from a peripheral player into a pivotal axis of global diplomacy.
A Crisis That Redrew the Map
When the United States launched its military campaign against Iran on February 28, 2026, the world braced for catastrophe. Global oil markets lurched, the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes, was blockaded, and Washington issued increasingly dire threats.[1]
As Trump posted on Truth Social warning that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,’ the window for diplomacy appeared to be closing fast. It was precisely in that moment that Pakistan’s leadership stepped forward, not as a bystander, but as the indispensable interlocutor.[2]
The September Foundation: When Rawalpindi Met Washington
The groundwork for Pakistan’s mediating role was laid months before the war began. In September 2025, PM Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Munir visited Washington and held high-level meetings with President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.[3]
The visit produced landmark agreements: the revival of the US–Pakistan Counterterrorism Dialogue, accords on critical minerals and hydrocarbons, and a notably favourable trade arrangement that granted Pakistan the lowest tariff rate in South Asia at 19 per cent. In return, the United States had Pakistan’s strategic goodwill, and access to one of the few nations on earth that maintained trusted relationships with both Washington and Tehran.[4]
Munir’s rapport with Trump was also cemented through back-channel business engagements, including connections to the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, a personal bond that would later prove decisive.[5]
Field Marshal Munir: The Man Trump Calls His ‘Favourite’
Field Marshal Munir, who has been described by Bloomberg as ‘the most powerful man in Pakistan,’ became the linchpin of the entire peace architecture. Before announcing the ceasefire, Trump reportedly made two critical phone calls: one to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the other to Munir.[6]
On April 15, 2026, Munir became the first regional military leader to fly to Tehran since the war began, a symbolically charged visit in which he carried a direct message from the United States to Iranian leadership. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi received him personally upon arrival, and Munir subsequently met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).[7]
Trump, who has praised Munir as ‘an exceptional man,’ ‘a great fighter,’ and ‘my favourite field marshal,‘ was reported by The New York Times to have been in direct communication with the CDF throughout the final, critical hours of negotiation.[8]
PM Shehbaz’s Diplomatic Offensive: From Riyadh to Doha to Ankara
While Munir worked the military and intelligence back-channels, PM Shehbaz mounted a relentless diplomatic offensive across the Gulf and beyond. He met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, held talks with Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha, and was scheduled to attend the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey for a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[9]
On April 11, PM Sharif shook hands with Vice President JD Vance in Islamabad, guiding him to the table for the highest-level direct US-Iran negotiations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The ‘Islamabad Talks,‘ hosted on Pakistani soil, represented a singular diplomatic achievement, a neutral venue arranged by a country with trusted relations on both sides.[10]
PM Sharif’s public appeal, posted on social media urging Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz as a ‘goodwill gesture‘ and calling for a ceasefire, came with roughly five hours remaining on Trump’s deadline. The breakthrough followed shortly after.[11]
The Ceasefire: Pakistan’s Defining Diplomatic Moment
Trump’s Truth Social post announcing the ceasefire explicitly named both Pakistani leaders: ‘Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran… I agree to suspend the bombing.‘ Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi confirmed Iran’s acceptance ‘in response to the brotherly request of PM Sharif.’[12]
The immediate impact was tangible: global oil prices fell 16 per cent, and the Strait of Hormuz was set to reopen for the first time in five weeks. Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and other Gulf states welcomed the ceasefire and praised Pakistan’s constructive role.[13]
Risks and Tensions: The Tightrope Pakistan Walks
Pakistan’s diplomatic triumph does not come without risk. Critics and analysts note the structural tensions inherent in Islamabad’s dual commitments. On the same day that PM Sharif met Vance for US-Iran talks, Saudi Arabia announced the deployment of Pakistani military aircraft to King Abdulaziz airbase under the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed in September 2025, a pact that commits both nations to treat aggression against one as aggression against both.[14]
A former senior Pakistani general, speaking anonymously, cautioned that the dual role could collapse the moment military deployment shifts from defensive to offensive. Meanwhile, India has rebuffed the US-Pakistan diplomatic rapprochement, and Beijing watches with unease as Islamabad offers Washington access to critical minerals worth an estimated $6 trillion, resources previously expected to feed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects.[15]
Some analysts also raise constitutional questions at home: with Munir openly running foreign policy and serving as the primary interlocutor with a sitting US president, the line between the elected government and the military establishment has, for many observers, all but disappeared.[16]
A New Pakistan on the World Stage
Whatever the domestic complexities, there is little debate internationally that Pakistan has achieved something remarkable. South Asia expert Michael Kugelman has noted that Pakistan defied widespread scepticism that it lacked the capacity to pull off a mediation of this complexity and stakes. Former Pakistani ambassador to Iran Asif Durrani observed that Tehran would not trust any other country in the region to serve as interlocutor.[17]
From conflict creator to peacemaker, the pivot Pakistan has executed in 2026 is, by any measure, a defining moment in its post-independence history. Whether it translates into lasting strategic influence, economic relief, and durable regional peace remains to be seen. But for now, in the most fraught geopolitical theatre on earth, it is Islamabad, and the tandem of Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir, that the world is watching.
References
1. CBS News. ‘Trump says Iran war close to over as Pakistan pushes for new peace talks.’ April 16, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/trump-iran-war-strait-hormuz-ceasefire-pakistan-peace-talks-israel-lebanon/
2. Dawn.com. ‘Trump halts Iran attacks after talks with PM Shehbaz, CDF Munir; US, Iran reach ceasefire agreement.’ April 2026. https://www.dawn.com/news/1989584
3. Al Jazeera. ‘How Pakistan managed to get the US and Iran to a ceasefire.’ April 8, 2026. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/4/8/how-pakistan-managed-to-get-the-us-and-iran-to-a-ceasefire
4. East Asia Forum. ‘Renewed US–Pakistan relations stand on shaky ground.’ November 10, 2025. https://eastasiaforum.org/2025/11/10/renewed-us-pakistan-relations-stand-on-shaky-ground/
5. Fox News Digital. ‘Trump’s favorite field marshal: Who is Pakistan’s powerful army chief Asim Munir with deep intel ties.’ April 18, 2026. https://www.foxnews.com/world/trumps-favorite-field-marshal-who-pakistans-powerful-army-chief-asim-munir-deep-intel-ties
6. Bloomberg. ‘Pakistan’s Army Chief Takes Spotlight in US-Iran Peace Talks.’ April 16, 2026. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-16/pakistan-s-army-chief-takes-spotlight-in-us-iran-peace-talks
7. The Week India. ‘Asim Munir in Tehran; White House calls Pakistan the sole mediator in US-Iran talks.’ April 16, 2026. https://www.theweek.in/news/middle-east/2026/04/16/asim-munir-in-tehran-white-house-calls-pakistan-the-sole-mediator-in-us-iran-talks.html
8. Fox News Digital. ‘Trump’s favorite field marshal.’ April 18, 2026. (ibid.)
9. Euronews. ‘Pakistan PM Sharif visits Doha as regional mediation gathers pace for US–Iran talks.’ April 17, 2026. https://www.euronews.com/2026/04/16/pakistan-pm-sharif-visits-doha-as-regional-mediation-gathers-pace-for-usiran-talks
10. Al Jazeera. ‘Can Pakistan juggle US-Iran mediation with Saudi defence commitments?’ April 14, 2026. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/14/can-pakistan-juggle-us-iran-mediation-with-saudi-defence-commitments
11. Dawn.com. ‘Trump halts Iran attacks.’ (ibid.)
12. Dawn.com. ‘Trump halts Iran attacks.’ (ibid.)
13. Al Jazeera. ‘How Pakistan managed to get the US and Iran to a ceasefire.’ (ibid.)
14. Al Jazeera. ‘Can Pakistan juggle US-Iran mediation with Saudi defence commitments?’ (ibid.)
15. East Asia Forum. ‘Renewed US–Pakistan relations stand on shaky ground.’ (ibid.)
16. The Week India. ‘Pakistan army chief Asim Munir’s new role: Peacemaker of Middle East.’ April 17, 2026. https://www.theweek.in/news/middle-east/2026/04/17/pakistan-army-chief-asim-munirs-new-role-peacemaker-of-middle-east.html
17. The Week India. ‘Pakistan army chief Asim Munir’s new role.’ (ibid.)
