The crisis that had kept the world watching paused on Friday when Iran announced that passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz was open for the remainder of the Lebanon ceasefire.
For weeks, that narrow waterway had stood at the centre of fears over disrupted oil flows, spiralling freight costs and another global inflation shock. Markets answered within hours. Oil prices fell nearly 13 per cent, a sharp reminder that diplomacy can move faster than fleets. For Pakistan, whose own economy remains exposed to imported energy costs, the relief was immediate and hard won.
With the two-week ceasefire deadline set to expire soon, Islamabad had been working relentlessly to keep talks alive. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Field Marshal Asim Munir were engaged in sustained contacts between Washington, Tehran and Riyadh, helping bridge positions that had repeatedly collapsed under pressure. Earlier negotiations had been shaken by an Iranian strike on a Saudi petrochemical facility, forcing Pakistan to balance treaty obligations with Saudi Arabia while pressing the United States to restrain Israeli operations.
The seriousness of that role became clearer when Pakistan’s air force reportedly escorted Iranian negotiators home after talks, amid fears they could be targeted en route. Few countries are trusted with the security of adversaries during wartime diplomacy. Fewer still can maintain working channels with all sides at once.
Pakistan’s mediation is all the more remarkable given years of sustained efforts by rivals to portray it as isolated or unreliable. Today, it is a trusted conduit between the White House and Tehran. This transformation stems from aggressive outreach, intelligence cooperation and a rare alignment between Pakistan’s civilian and military leaders. The United Nations, the US and Iran have all praised Islamabad’s “incredible” mediation. Even Donald Trump has, on numerous occasions and very publicly, thanked Prime Minister Sharif and Field Marshal Munir. Even Donald Trump has repeatedly praised Pakistan’s leadership while discussing the negotiations.
Pakistan’s handling of the Hormuz crisis shows that middle powers still matter in an age of brute force. Its insistence that the ceasefire include Lebanon prevented a narrow arrangement that would have left another front burning. The world needs states that can speak across camps, lower temperatures, and convert access into outcomes–Pakistan has shown it can be one of them. If this diplomacy now matures into durable agreements, the country’s recent resurgence will look less like a passing moment in the sun and more like a turning point. *