In striking turnaround, Pakistan now central to US-Iran talks, elevating Its stature: NYT

NEW YORK, Mar 27 (APP): Pakistan has moved to the center of quiet diplomatic efforts between the United States and Iran, following a year-long effort to rebuild ties with the Trump administration, The New York Times reported.

Islamabad has already relayed Washington’s proposed framework for ending the conflict to Tehran and offered to host talks, positioning itself as what the report describes as a “pivotal intermediary” in efforts to secure a ceasefire.

The development marks a striking turnaround for Pakistan, which was “little more than a year ago a diplomatic afterthought in Washington,” according to The Times.

Its subsequent “charm campaign,” though not initially tied to the Iran conflict, “elevated Pakistan’s standing in Washington in the lead-up to the conflict.”

A separate dispatch, also in The New York Times said, “Syed Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief and the country’s most powerful man, has in recent weeks emerged as a central figure in behind-the-scenes diplomacy aimed at easing tensions between the United States and Iran.”

Citing analysts, the newspaper said, “His role highlights both Islamabad’s acute exposure to regional instability and newly found geopolitical relevance built on the personal relationship Field Marshal Munir has built with President Trump”.

“Pakistan likely never had the kind of access to the White House it has now,” the newspaper quoted Qamar Cheema, a Pakistani security analyst, as saying.

The main Times’ dispatch also says, sharing a 565-mile border with Iran, Pakistan is now “playing a potentially central role” in the halting effort to broker a ceasefire and a broader peace deal.

“It is a striking rise in station for Pakistan…,” the report notes, adding that since President Donald Trump’s return to office, Islamabad has “lavished praise on the president, hired lobbyists tied to his family and even nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize,” while pursuing business deals aligned with the administration’s transactional approach to foreign policy.

The report notes how Pakistan cultivated close ties with the Trump Administration and its leaders including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and military chief Asim Munir had meetings with President Trump at the White House over the past year.

At a recent “Board of Peace” meeting in Washington, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff unveiled a joint initiative with Pakistan involving redevelopment of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York—described by a White House official as “a potentially lucrative partnership” between the two governments. While framed as a commercial venture, the move underscored deepening bilateral ties that have translated into diplomatic leverage.

The report notes that a month before sealing the hotel deal, Pakistan’s finance minister signed an agreement with an affiliate of World Liberty Financial, a crypto start-up founded by the Trump and Witkoff families.

The White House, however, denied any link between the hotel arrangement, the crypto firm, or Iran diplomacy.

“This is a deal that could only be negotiated by someone with the talent and expertise of Special Envoy Witkoff,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said, adding that it came “at no cost to the American taxpayer,” and describing Pakistan as “an important partner” on multiple fronts, including counterterrorism.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has offered to host talks between Washington and Tehran, stating they would be “in the interest of peace and stability in region and beyond.”

The report highlights Pakistan’s strategic motivations, noting that prolonged instability in Iran could carry domestic and economic risks, while successful mediation could enhance Islamabad’s global standing and sideline regional rivals.

As backchannel efforts continue, Pakistan now finds itself not only participating in but helping shape negotiations of global consequence—marking a significant recalibration of its role on the world stage, it was pointed out.