Why Is Pakistan Mediator?     03/27 06:58

   As fears of a wider regional conflict escalate following U.S. and Israeli 
strikes on Iran that began in late February, Pakistan has emerged as an 
unexpected mediator, offering to help bring Washington and Tehran to the 
negotiating table.

   ISLAMABAD (AP) -- As fears of a wider regional conflict escalate following 
U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that began in late February, Pakistan has 
emerged as an unexpected mediator, offering to help bring Washington and Tehran 
to the negotiating table.

   Islamabad isn't often called on to act as an intermediary in high-stakes 
diplomacy, but it's stepped into the role this time for a number of reasons, 
both because it has relatively good ties with both Washington and Tehran and 
because it has a lot at stake in seeing the war resolved.

   Pakistani government officials have said that their public peace effort 
follows weeks of quiet diplomacy, though they have provided few details. They 
have also said that Islamabad stands ready to host talks between 
representatives from the U.S. and Iran.

   Here's what to know about Pakistan's mediation effort:

   Pakistan helped US deliver 15-point plan to Iran

   Pakistan's role in Iran-U.S. negotiations surfaced only days ago following 
media reports. Officials in Islamabad later acknowledged that a U.S. proposal 
had been conveyed to Iran.

   It remains unclear who has served as Iran's point of contact in the indirect 
talks. Iran has maintained it has not held such talks and dismissed the U.S. 
proposal, but Tehran has acknowledged responding with its own proposals.

   According to Pakistani officials, U.S. messages are being passed to Iran and 
Iranian responses relayed to Washington, though they did not specify how the 
process is being handled or who is directly communicating with whom. Pakistan's 
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said this week that Turkey and Egypt are also 
working behind the scenes to bring the sides to the negotiating table.

   Abdullah Khan, managing director of the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and 
Security Studies, said that Pakistani's mediation efforts may be contributing 
to relative restraint in the conflict. He noted that U.S. President Donald 
Trump has delayed his threats of large-scale attacks on Iran's energy 
infrastructure citing diplomatic progress, and Iranian responses toward U.S. 
interests in the Gulf have been measured in what may be an effort to preserve 
space for diplomacy.

   Ties with both US and Iran set Pakistan up for new role

   Previous US-Iran negotiations have been facilitated mainly by countries in 
the Middle East, including Oman and Qatar, but as they come under Iranian fire 
during the war Pakistan has stepped into the role.

   Analysts say Pakistan's geographic proximity to Iran -- it's one of its 
neighbors -- coupled with its longstanding ties with the U.S., gives it a 
unique position at a time when direct communication between the two sides 
remains constrained.

   Islamabad has good working relations with most of the key parties in the 
war, including both the U.S. and Iran. It has close strategic ties with Gulf 
states including Saudi Arabia, with which it signed a defense cooperation 
agreement last year. However, Pakistan has no diplomatic relations with Israel 
because of the lingering issue of Palestinian statehood.

   Relations between the United States and Pakistan have improved since last 
year, with increased diplomatic engagement and expanding economic ties. 
Pakistan also joined Trump's Board of Peace, which aims to ensure peace in 
Gaza, despite opposition from Islamists at home.

   Over the weekend, Trump spoke to the Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim 
Munir, whom the U.S. president has publicly described as his "favorite Field 
Marshal." Analysts say he's a player who enjoys good ties with both the Iranian 
and U.S. militaries.

   Pakistan has a lot at stake in ceasefire talks

   The conflict poses some of "the biggest economic and energy security 
challenges" in Pakistan's history, said Islamabad-based security analyst Syed 
Mohammad Ali.

   The country gets most of its oil and gas from the Middle East --- and, he 
said, the five million Pakistanis working in the Arab world send home 
remittances each year roughly equal to the country's total export earnings.

   Rising tensions have already contributed to higher global oil prices, 
forcing Pakistan to increase fuel prices by about 20% and putting pressure on 
the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

   The war is also adding to domestic turmoil, even as Pakistan has been 
grappling for months with its own conflict with neighboring Afghanistan. 
Islamabad has accused the country's Taliban government of tolerating militant 
groups that are behind attacks in Pakistan.

   Earlier this month, protests erupted across the country following U.S. 
strikes on Iran, with demonstrators clashing with security forces in several 
cities.

   A day after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killing Supreme 
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, clashes erupted in Pakistan's southern port city 
of Karachi and in parts of the north, leaving at least 22 people dead and more 
than 120 injured nationwide.

   At least 12 people were killed in and around the U.S. Consulate in Karachi 
after a mob breached the compound and attempted to set it on fire.

   Khamenei was a central religious and political figure for Shiites worldwide, 
including in Pakistan.

   Pakistan has a record as a mediator

   While Pakistan rarely serves as a mediator, its record does include playing 
a role in some very high-profile talks.

   Pakistan's then-President Gen. Yahya Khan facilitated backchannel contacts 
that led to U.S. President Richard Nixon's historic 1972 visit to China. That 
paved the way for the establishment of diplomatic ties between Washington and 
Beijing in 1979.

   Since then, Pakistan has played a role in several other complex regional 
conflicts, most notably during the 1988 Geneva Accords that paved the way for 
the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. Acting as a frontline state and key 
interlocutor, Islamabad participated in U.N.-brokered negotiations while 
working closely with the United States and other stakeholders and helped 
increase pressure on Moscow to pull out its forces.

   More recently, Pakistan facilitated contacts between the Afghan Taliban and 
Washington that led to talks in Doha that culminated in a 2020 agreement and 
set the stage for the withdrawal of U.S.-led NATO troops and the Taliban's 
return to power in 2021.