Regional diplomacy
Pakistan, Iran & the US Mediation Track
Follow Pakistan's mediation between the US and Iran: Asim Munir's Tehran visits, DPM Dar's regional calls, the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, and the Strait of Hormuz blockade.
The reporting trail
Page 13 of 17
Pakistan / Politics & GovernancePakistan and China put forward five-point peace plan as Mideast war enters fifth week
DPM/FO Ishaq Dar and Chinese FM Wang Yi issued a five-point initiative in Beijing on 31 March 2026 for halting the US-Iran war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan / Politics & GovernancePakistan offers to host US-Iran talks as four-nation consultations end
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt ended quadrilateral consultations in Islamabad on 29 March 2026, with Ishaq Dar offering to host US-Iran talks.
Pakistan / Politics & GovernanceSaudi, Turkiye, Egypt foreign ministers to visit Islamabad for Iran war talks
On 28 March 2026 Pakistan said the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt will meet in Islamabad on 29-30 March to discuss the Iran war.
Pakistan / Business & FinanceIMF, Pakistan sign staff-level agreement unlocking $1.2bn tranche
On 28 March 2026 the IMF announced a staff-level agreement unlocking $1.2bn for Pakistan under the EFF and RSF, with tacit backing for Islamabad's fuel subsidy.
Pakistan / Politics & GovernancePakistan emerges as US-Iran backchannel as 15-point plan moves through Islamabad
On 27 March 2026 Pakistan's mediation in the US-Iran war drew Kuwaiti royal and US lawmaker endorsements alongside DPM Dar's confirmation.
Pakistan / Politics & GovernancePakistan offers to host US-Iran talks as Trump amplifies Sharif
On 24 March 2026 Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered Islamabad as the venue for US-Iran talks, an offer President Trump reposted on Truth Social.
Pakistan / Politics & GovernancePakistan offers to host US-Iran talks as Shehbaz presses Pezeshkian on de-escalation
On 23 March 2026 Pakistan offered to host US-Iran talks and PM Shehbaz Sharif urged President Masoud Pezeshkian to pursue de-escalation as Trump paused strikes.
Pakistan / Entertainment & CulturePCB bars spectators from PSL 11, restricts matches to Lahore and Karachi under austerity drive
On 22 March 2026 PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said PSL 11 would proceed without spectators and only in Lahore and Karachi, with 72-hour ticket refunds under federal austerity
Pakistan / Business & FinanceRooftop solar boom shields Pakistan from Hormuz oil shock, study says
A study says Pakistan's rooftop solar boom has avoided more than $12 billion in oil and gas imports since 2018, cushioning it from Strait of Hormuz disruptions.
Pakistan / Politics & GovernancePakistanis held in Bahrain over war videos face uncertain legal path
Five Pakistani nationals detained in Bahrain since March 10 for filming and sharing videos of Iranian strikes face prosecution with no prisoner transfer pact to allow repatriation.
Pakistan / Business & FinancePakistan freezes fuel prices and bans petroleum exports as oil surges
Petrol and diesel prices stayed unchanged on 13 March 2026 as Islamabad banned petroleum exports and readied a Rs389 billion emergency fund to absorb higher global oil costs.
Pakistan / Politics & GovernanceSeven police personnel martyred in IED attack in Lakki Marwat
A roadside IED destroyed a Shadikhel police vehicle in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Lakki Marwat district on 13 March 2026, killing seven officers including the station house officer.