THE willingness of the United States and Iran to return back to Islamabad for the second round of direct talks sparks confidence that a peace deal was within reach. Pakistan has reportedly shared a proposal with both the countries for resumption of the dialogue and President Donald Trump has confirmed his country’s delegation might return to Pakistan’s capital for the purpose ‘in two days’ and similar confirmation has also come from Tehran.
There were reports that Pakistani mediators remained constantly in touch with the two sides ever since the collapse of the first round in an effort to bridge their differences on key issues and their willingness to participate in the second round is a clear indication of emerging understanding during back-channel contacts. The very fact that Islamabad will remain as the venue for further talks is manifestation of the trust that the two countries have on Pakistan’s neutrality and ability to mediate in the complicated scenario. The US President made meaningful remarks in recognition of Pakistan’s role as an honest mediator pointing out it was “more likely” they would go back to Islamabad because Field Marshal Asim Munir “is doing a great job.” Praising him as a fantastic personality, he said. “Why should we go to some country that has nothing to do with it?” On its part, Tehran conveyed no other venue except Pakistan was acceptable to Iran. There are always pitfalls in high risk scenarios but continuation of the temporary ceasefire despite provocations augurs well for a positive outcome of the second round. Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose country is putting its weight behind efforts aimed at peaceful resolution of the conflict, has proposed a four-point plan for promoting peace and stability in the Middle-East. He called for adherence to the principle of peaceful coexistence, stressing the need to build “common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable” security architecture for the Middle East and the Gulf region. Xi also urged adherence to the principle of national sovereignty and that the principle of international rule of law must be upheld to prevent the world from “falling back into the law of the jungle”. This can form the basis for a new security and development framework for the region once the spectre of war is over.
