{"id":47201,"date":"2026-04-11T00:04:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T00:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=47201"},"modified":"2026-04-11T00:04:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T00:04:35","slug":"lets-talk-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=47201","title":{"rendered":"Let&#8217;s talk peace"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>As senior figures from the United States and Iran are set to hold historic talks in Islamabad on Saturday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described the high-stakes negociations as &#8220;make or break moment&#8221; for peace.<\/p>\n<p>Despite earlier uncertainty and competing claims over the ceasefire terms, talks are going ahead as scheduled amid unprecedented security lockdown in the federal capital.<\/p>\n<p>Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf landed in Pakistan late on Friday night, the Foreign Office said.<\/p>\n<p>The delegation was received by Deputy Prime Minister\/Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar along with National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Chief of Defence Forces &amp; Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Syed Asim Munir and Minister for Interior Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi, the statement added.<\/p>\n<p>Iran&#8217;s Tasnim news agency reported that Ghalibaf is leading the delegation, which includes FM Araghchi, Defence Council Secretary Ali Akbar Ahmadian, Central Bank Chief Abdolnaser Hemmati and some members of parliament.<\/p>\n<p>Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the nation in a televised speech, describing the upcoming talks as a &#8220;make-or-break moment&#8221; for peace.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I ask all of you to pray that these talks are successful and countless lives are saved and the world shall see peace,&#8221; the prime minister said, underlining the gravity of the situation and Pakistan&#8217;s role as a mediator at a critical juncture.<\/p>\n<p>Pakistan has been working behind the scenes for weeks to bring both the sides to the negotiating table.<\/p>\n<p>Officials familiar with the diplomatic efforts say Islamabad leveraged its ties with Washington as well as backchannel contacts with Tehran to create conditions conducive to dialogue.<\/p>\n<p>In his address, Shehbaz singled out Field Marshal Asim Munir and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar for their role in defusing tensions and facilitating engagement between the two adversaries.<\/p>\n<p>He credited them with helping &#8220;put out the flames of war,&#8221; a public acknowledgment of civil-military coordination in sensitive diplomatic initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>The talks will formally begin on Saturday, with both delegations arriving under tight security in Islamabad.<\/p>\n<p>The capital has witnessed heightened security measures over the past 48 hours, with limited movement in key areas and an increased presence of law enforcement personnel, reflecting the high-profile nature of the visit.<\/p>\n<p>From the United States, Vice President JD Vance is leading the delegation.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking before departing for Pakistan, Vance struck a cautiously optimistic tone, saying Washington was open to dialogue if Iran demonstrated sincerity.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we&#8217;re certainly willing to extend the open hand,&#8221; he told reporters, echoing a broader US position that leaves the door open for diplomacy while maintaining pressure.<\/p>\n<p>However, the messaging from Washington has been far from uniform. President Donald Trump has coupled calls for negotiations with stark warnings of renewed military action if talks fail.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with an America media outlet, Trump said the United States was prepared to escalate if necessary.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to find out in about 24 hours. We&#8217;re going to know soon,&#8221; he said, adding that Washington had already begun preparations for a potential military response.<\/p>\n<p>Trump also expressed skepticism about Iran&#8217;s intentions, suggesting that conflicting signals from Tehran raised doubts about its willingness to compromise, particularly on the contentious issue of nuclear enrichment.<\/p>\n<p>On the Iranian side, expectations are tempered by clear preconditions.<\/p>\n<p>Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has publicly stated that negotiations cannot proceed unless certain demands are met, including a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran&#8217;s frozen financial assets.<\/p>\n<p>Diplomatic observers note that both the sides seem to be hardening their stances as tactic and public posturing.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, analysts believe even preliminary engagement would mark a significant breakthrough given the current level of hostility.<\/p>\n<p>For Pakistan, hosting the talks represents both an opportunity and a challenge.<\/p>\n<p>Islamabad has long sought to position itself as a credible mediator in regional and global conflicts, and the success of these negotiations could significantly enhance its diplomatic standing.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, failure could expose the limits of its influence and underscore the deep mistrust that continues to define US-Iran relations.<\/p>\n<p>Officials remain cautious and were not willing to divulge any details. There has been unprecedented level of secrecy shrouding the talks.<\/p>\n<p>The prime minister, meanwhile, in his address, said that Pakistan would &#8220;make sure these talks are successful by putting in their best efforts&#8221;, while acknowledging that the ultimate outcome remains uncertain.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As senior figures from the United States and Iran are set to hold historic talks in Islamabad on Saturday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described the high-stakes negociations as &#8220;make or break moment&#8221; for peace. Despite earlier uncertainty and competing claims over the ceasefire terms, talks are going ahead as scheduled amid unprecedented security lockdown in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47201\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}