PM Shehbaz Still Hopeful About Hosting Another Round of Iran-US Talks in Islamabad — The Diplomacy That Refuses to Quit
By Sayed Abdullah | May 18, 2026
There's a particular kind of patience required to mediate between two countries that fundamentally do not trust each other. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif seems to have it in abundance. In an interview with The Sunday Times this week, the prime minister made clear that Pakistan is not backing away from its role as the bridge between Washington and Tehran — and that behind the scenes, serious work is underway to lock in a second round of direct talks in Islamabad. "Peace is never won easily," he said, with the kind of understatement that only someone who has sat across from both sides can fully appreciate.
The push for a second round follows the historic initial session of direct negotiations that Pakistan hosted on April 11 and 12. Those talks, which took place after a two-week ceasefire was agreed on April 8, brought high-level delegations from the US and Iran into the same room for the first time in years. They didn't produce a breakthrough — no one expected them to — but they produced something arguably more important: a channel. Now the challenge is to keep that channel open, and to convince both sides to return to it.
The Prime Minister's Own Words
Shehbaz Sharif was characteristically measured in his assessment. "Navigating complex diplomatic situations requires patience, sagacity and ability to move things despite the most difficult challenges," he told The Sunday Times. The phrasing is careful — it doesn't claim victory, doesn't overpromise — but it signals something important: Pakistan is still at the table, still working, still pushing. That's not nothing. In fact, given the forces that would prefer to see these talks collapse, it's a quiet form of defiance.
He confirmed that back-channel and diplomatic efforts are actively underway. "As we speak, we're still doing our best to ensure that this peace effort achieves a long-lasting peace through another session here in Islamabad and we are hopeful that it will happen," the prime minister said. The word "hopeful" is doing a lot of work there. Diplomats don't use it lightly. When a head of government says he's hopeful, it usually means the groundwork is further along than the public knows.
According to the PM, Pakistan's mediation role has positioned it as a trusted neutral party. He asserted that the country is "acknowledged worldwide as an honest mediator and as a country in which international leadership has full trust and faith." That's a bold statement, but it's also one that has been quietly validated by recent events. US President Donald Trump has publicly credited Pakistan with halting a military strike on Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has acknowledged that Pakistan's mediation process has not failed, even as he's expressed frustration with Washington's contradictory signals. When both sides are saying — publicly — that Pakistan is playing a constructive role, that's not spin. That's evidence.
The Challenge Ahead
But hope is not a strategy, and Shehbaz Sharif knows that better than anyone. The obstacles to a second round are the same ones that nearly derailed the first. Iran wants verifiable sanctions relief and a guarantee that no future American administration can unilaterally tear up whatever agreement is reached — a demand rooted in the trauma of the 2015 JCPOA, which the US abandoned despite Iran's verified compliance. The US wants verifiable, permanent limits on Iran's nuclear program. Bridging that gap requires more than shuttle diplomacy. It requires a framework that addresses the core mistrust on both sides — a mistrust so deep that even successful interventions are followed by breakdowns.
There are also spoilers — actors in the region and beyond who benefit from permanent confrontation and who see Pakistan's mediation as a threat to their interests. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Pakistan of running a "shadow campaign" against US-Israel relations. Some US lawmakers have called for a reevaluation of Pakistan's mediator status. And within Iran and the US, hardliners on both sides are actively working to prevent any accommodation from taking hold. Pakistan is navigating a diplomatic minefield, and the fact that it hasn't stepped on anything catastrophic yet is a testament to the skill of its negotiators.
What This Means for Pakistan
If Pakistan succeeds in hosting a second round — and eventually, a third and a fourth — the benefits extend far beyond the Iran-US file. A country that can broker conversations between the world's most powerful military and one of its most isolated states is a country whose diplomatic weight increases across the board. It strengthens Pakistan's hand in negotiations with international financial institutions, in trade discussions, and in its own regional disputes. It transforms the narrative from one of instability and conflict to one of reliability and quiet influence.
None of this is guaranteed. Diplomacy is slow, often thankless, and frequently invisible. The prime minister's hope may be met with disappointment. But the effort itself — the persistent, patient work of keeping two adversaries talking — is already changing how Pakistan is seen. And that change, even if it hasn't yet produced a final deal, is worth acknowledging.
Do you believe Pakistan will successfully host another round of Iran-US talks, and can this mediation role be sustained long-term? I'd like to hear your perspective in the comments.
Sayed Abdullah is the founder of Prime Pakistan. Based in Karachi, he provides honest analysis on politics, cricket, and technology for the common Pakistani. He believes in context over clickbait. Read more.
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Sources & External Links
- The Sunday Times — PM Shehbaz Sharif Interview
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan — Official Statements
- Reuters — Coverage of Islamabad Talks
- Dawn — Pakistan's Diplomacy Updates
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