Noureen🇵🇰

A member of the Iranian Parliament mocked Pakistan's mediation role in Kabul. His remarks have triggered a debate, with some Pakistanis seemingly endorsing his views. I have covered the Iran-US war and Pakistan's mediation efforts extensively. I would cite two instances that reflected how Pakistan went out of its way to support Iran. First, in the early days of the Iran-US war, Saudi Arabia convened a meeting of key Muslim countries in Riyadh. The foreign ministers of 11 countries were in the room. It was Ramazan. The meeting was supposed to last only a couple of hours, but it took more than nine hours to conclude. The reason: Gulf countries moved a draft statement that was so scathing against Iran that Pakistan had to intervene, later joined by Turkey. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had an intense exchange with some in the room, as they were so furious over Iranian strikes that one country even suggested the complete obliteration of Iran. Pakistan stood its ground and said that if they wanted a one-sided statement solely blaming Iran, Islamabad would not sign the joint statement. The Pakistani side also told the Gulf countries that if they thought removing Iran from the face of the earth would end their problems, they were mistaken. Eventually, a compromise was reached, and Pakistan managed to protect Iranian interests. That meeting proved fatal for Pakistan-UAE ties. Second, prior to the Islamabad talks, JD Vance twice aborted his visit for talks with Iran. The reason: Tehran backed out at the last minute. I filed a story and faced immediate backlash from the Pakistani side. The Foreign Office did not dispute the story, but officials insisted that it gave the impression that Iran was at fault. "We don't want to give this impression," said an official who was in contact with me to deal with the fallout from the story. I was surprised at how the Foreign Office was going the extra mile to protect Iran's image. The remarks of the Iranian Parliament member may not reflect Iran's official stance, but the fact remains: Tehran should remain indebted to Islamabad.