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Regional diplomacy

Pakistan, Iran & the US Mediation Track

Pakistan has been the main outside mediator between the United States and Iran since the February 2026 start of the US-Israeli campaign against Iran. After brokering the 8 April ceasefire and the 17 June Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding in Geneva, Islamabad has kept a channel of talks and a steady stream of visits by Field Marshal Asim Munir, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar open with Tehran, Doha and Riyadh. This hub follows those visits, the parallel R-4 and OIC tracks, and the Strait of Hormuz negotiations whose outcome the mediation effort has been designed to unlock.

193 reportsLatest 20 October 2026
A wide panoramic view of northern Tehran against snow-capped mountains under a clear sky, with low-rise city buildings stretching across the foreground.

Latest development

20 October 2026
Newest report

Pakistan's CDF Munir visits Tehran to revive US-Iran mediation

Field Marshal Asim Munir is in Tehran on 20 October for talks on Pakistan's mediation between the US and Iran, following Mohsin Naqvi's Doha security forum speech.

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The reporting trail

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A tree-lined avenue in central Dushanbe with cars parked on both sides, pedestrians on a zebra crossing and a yellow taxi at the left edge of the frame.International — Region / International — Region

Pakistan's DPM Dar to lead SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe on 19-20 October

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar left Islamabad on 19 October to lead Pakistan's delegation at the two-day SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

A wide daytime view of the Cairo skyline along the Nile, with low-rise buildings stretching into the distance and the green river and a bridge visible in the foreground under a hazy sky.International — Region / International — Region

Dar holds talks with Iranian, Egyptian FMs on OIC meeting and Houthi attacks

Pakistan's DPM Ishaq Dar spoke by phone on 18 October with Iran's Araghchi and Egypt's Abdelatty, covering the OIC Baghdad meeting, R-4 and Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

A concrete anti-smuggling barrier stretching into the distance along a dirt track at the Iran-Pakistan border in arid terrain.Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan shut to trade after FIA closes immigration gate on Saturday

Cross-border trade at Taftan halted on Saturday after Pakistan's FIA shut the immigration gate and the commerce ministry withdrew the EIF waiver for Iran, stranding 2,000 trucks.

Aerial photograph of the white-domed Aiwan-e-Sadr presidential palace in Islamabad, with the surrounding gardens and Margalla Hills in the distance under a clear skyInternational — Region / International — Region

Maldives President Muizzu to make first state visit to Pakistan in 11 years on 20–22 October

Pakistan's Foreign Office said on 18 October that Maldivian President Dr Mohamed Muizzu will make a three-day state visit on 20–22 October 2026, marking 60 years of ties.

A wide elevated view of Constitution Avenue in Islamabad, looking past tree-lined boulevards toward the federal precinct of Pakistan's capital, with the Presidency, Supreme Court and National Assembly visible in the distance against a clear sky.International — Region / International — Region

Pakistan FO declines to back Saudi's Iran-Houthi accusation while reaffirming Makkah pact

The Foreign Office said it could not comment on Saudi Arabia's accusation that Iran arms the Houthis while reaffirming Pakistan's defence obligations under the Makkah pact.

A night-time satellite view of Baghdad, with a bright grid of city lights divided by the dark ribbon of the Tigris River.International — Region / International — Region

Pakistan and Iran to hold de-escalation talks at OIC meeting in Baghdad

Pakistan and Iran plan fresh consultations on regional de-escalation when OIC foreign ministers meet in Baghdad on 17-18 October, amid the US-Iran war.

A head-and-shoulders portrait of Mohsin Naqvi, Pakistan's interior minister, in a dark suit and tie.Pakistan / Politics & Governance

Pakistan and Russia agree to finalise extradition and prisoner-transfer deals

During the first visit by a Russian interior minister, Pakistan and Russia agreed to finalise an extradition treaty and a criminal-exchange pact and signed an organised-crime MoU.

A daytime view of the Old Muscat waterfront in Oman, showing low-rise traditional buildings in the foreground, the Al Alam palace complex behind a row of stone fortifications, and turquoise water and low rocky hills in the background.Pakistan / Politics & Governance

Pakistan and Oman sign six MoUs and joint working groups at 8th JMC session

Pakistan and Oman signed six agreements on 14 October covering visas, archives, IT, broadcasting and media, and agreed new joint working groups and a Pakistan-Oman business forum.

A head-and-shoulders portrait of Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Russia's interior minister, in a dark suit and striped tie, speaking at a microphone.Pakistan / Politics & Governance

Russian interior minister in Islamabad for first-ever Pakistan visit

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev is in Pakistan for a four-day visit, the first by any Russian interior minister, for talks on policing and migration.

A Libyan oil facility seen from the air, with a cluster of tanks and pipelines against a desert landscape.Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan opens Libya crude channel and lines up TPAO Indus Basin survey

Pakistani Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik told his Libyan counterpart on 12 October at the IEF in Riyadh that refineries should consider Libyan crude.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly building in Peshawar, a low pale building with a central dome and a covered entrance, seen across a road.Pakistan / Politics & Governance

Pakistan sets up K-P monitoring committee as emergency rule faces court

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar will head an 11-member committee to oversee Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under emergency rule, as a petition challenges the takeover in court.