What happened
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Saturday, 28 March 2026, that the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt will visit Islamabad from 29 to 30 March for “in-depth discussions” on a range of issues, including efforts to reduce regional tensions amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, Dawn reported.
The visitors — Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Turkiye’s Hakan Fidan and Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty — are travelling at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and will also call on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Foreign Office said. FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on X that the “distinguished leaders will engage in comprehensive discussions on a wide range of regional and international issues — focusing on efforts to promote peace and de-escalation.” Late on Saturday, the Egyptian and Turkish ministers arrived in Islamabad.
Why it matters
The meeting was originally planned in Turkiye but was shifted to Islamabad because of Pakistan’s growing role in the Iran-US dialogue process and the possibility that it may also host those negotiations, Dawn reported. That shift has intensified speculation that an Iran-US meeting could take place in Islamabad within days.
PM Shehbaz had formally pitched Islamabad as a potential venue for negotiations between Iranian and US officials on 24 March, “subject to concurrence by the US and Iran”. The four-country mechanism was formed on 19 March on the sidelines of a gathering of 10 Arab and Muslim states in Riyadh. According to officials, Egyptian intelligence opened channels with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after that meeting, after which Pakistan moved to the forefront of the diplomatic engagement, as detailed in KhabarWire’s report on Pakistan’s backchannel role.
The wider outreach
Dar held separate telephone conversations with the Egyptian and Turkish foreign ministers on 27 March, with all sides underscoring the importance of dialogue, and he also spoke with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who “extended his full support for Pakistan’s ongoing diplomatic efforts”, the Foreign Office said. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi endorsed Pakistan’s role, while Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah “fully endorsed” the mediation effort in a call with PM Shehbaz, the premier’s office said.
What is still uncertain
No US-Iran meeting has been confirmed. PM Shehbaz also held an hour-long call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on 28 March in which he condemned continued Israeli strikes on Iran and briefed him on the outreach; Pezeshkian “thanked Pakistan for its mediation efforts”, AFP reported. Whether the quadrilateral talks in Islamabad produce a concrete path to negotiations remained the open question.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published reporting, not eyewitness coverage. Sources were reviewed on 2026-03-29.
- Dawn — Foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Egypt to visit Islamabad for 'in-depth' talks on Iran war: FO28 March 2026 · Baqir Sajjad Syed's Islamabad report carrying the Foreign Office statement, the ministers' names and the 29-30 March dates.
- Dawn — PM Shehbaz apprises Iranian president of diplomatic outreach efforts in over hour-long conversation28 March 2026 · PMO readout of the Shehbaz-Pezeshkian call and FO confirmation of the quadrilateral meeting.
- The News — In call with PM Shehbaz, Iran's Pezeshkian says trust needed for peace talks28 March 2026 · Reports Pezeshkian's praise of Pakistan's mediation and the quadrilateral format.
