PAKISTAN secured another success in its mediation efforts as President Donald Trump responded positively to the proposal of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF)/Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir for an extension in the ceasefire, preventing resumption of war between the United States and Iran. Importantly, the US President indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday, hours before it was set to expire, to allow the two countries to continue peace talks. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has welcomed this gesture hoping the ongoing diplomatic efforts in Islamabad will help pave the way towards a broader peace agreement.
The United States deserves appreciation for its unilateral decision but this indefinite extension of the ceasefire is threatened by the unbending attitude of both Washington and Tehran. It is because of the extreme positions adopted by them that the planned dialogue could not resume despite completion of the necessary homework by Islamabad. The national capital and its sister city Rawalpindi are virtually in a state of lock down and their residents are experiencing immense difficulties because of security and administrative measures that have restricted mobility and suspended economic and commercial activities. Almost the entire federal government is paralyzed with ministries, divisions, departments, judiciary and educational institutions closed. It is understood that this state of affairs is not sustainable and the two countries will have to review their hardened positions and sit across the negotiating table in Islamabad at the earliest. Pakistan is making frantic efforts to prevent further loss of lives and destruction but inflexibility and egoism on the part of Washington and Tehran are obstructing the process aimed at durable peace and security. Pakistan and other members of the international community have welcomed the decision of President Trump to extend the expiring ceasefire but unfortunately he has not responded positively to the suggestion made by Pakistan to lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports, which is the main stumbling block in the way of resumption of the dialogue. Attempts to enforce the blockade have already created bitterness and their repetition and resistance by Iran or its counter-strategy could derail the entire peace process.
Global powers are urging both sides to exercise restraint and create conditions conducive to dialogue to end the conflict, which sent energy prices soaring across the world. China has described the situation as being at a “critical stage” and called for conditions conducive to restoring normal maritime activity in the Strait of Hormuz. Chinese officials said their engagements were aimed at stabilizing energy flows while backing Islamabad’s facilitation role. Qatar also urged diplomacy, warning prolonged tensions risk wider global fallout, particularly if disruption in the Strait of Hormuz affects energy flows and markets. Iran, on the other hand, had ruled out negotiations with the US under ‘coercion’.
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said that they were ready to respond to any attack. Likewise, Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused President Trump of increasing pressure through the blockade, saying Trump was deluded in seeking to “turn the negotiating table into a table of submission” or justify renewed warmongering. The United States and Iran should listen to Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who described the effort to end the war as a “complex process” and emphasized that it is important to allow “continuity” for that process to play out. This is the crux of the issue as it is naïve to expect a comprehensive deal, covering all aspects of the situation, in one or two rounds of talks in the backdrop of decades of hostilities and mistrust. Pakistan’s balanced mediation has afforded an opportunity to both countries to move towards peaceful coexistence and they must grab it without losing further time.
