Pakistan has done what states of its size are seldom expected to do. It has helped move a dangerous regional confrontation from the edge of a wider war into a negotiated framework. In light of reports that the Islamabad Memorandum has been electronically signed and moved into implementation, Islamabad can legitimately claim that it helped create something more durable than a summit photograph: a working path away from war.
This is why the postponement of a ceremonial visit should not be mistaken for a diplomatic retreat. In serious negotiations, ceremony follows substance. Once the political breakthrough had been secured, the immediate task was no longer to stage optics, but to protect the process from confusion, overstatement and sabotage. Pakistan’s role was to help deliver an agreed framework, lower the temperature and keep the parties inside a structured mechanism. On those counts, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir have earned the credit now being acknowledged in foreign capitals.
From Beijing to Ottawa, and from Riyadh to other regional capitals, Pakistan’s role has been publicly noted. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari, has also underlined Doha’s support for Pakistan-led mediation efforts. Such statements matter because they show that Islamabad was not merely present in the room. It was part of the diplomatic machinery that made the room possible.
The harder work now begins. The next phase will move through technical-level tracks on sanctions relief, maritime security, nuclear-related measures, verification, sequencing and regional assurances. Each track contains enough political weight to damage the whole arrangement. Washington will seek verifiable restraint before meaningful sanctions relief, while Tehran will want early economic benefit to justify staying inside the process.
The maritime issue alone explains the scale of the breakthrough. The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly a fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption. Its reopening and secure operation affect oil prices, shipping insurance, supply chains and inflation far beyond the Gulf. By helping move the needle from coercion to negotiation, Pakistan has performed a service not only to the region but to the global economy.
It goes without saying that there will also be spoilers: Israeli anxieties, hardliners in Tehran and Washington, proxy calculations and unresolved battlefronts from Lebanon to Yemen. Any of these can turn technical disagreement into renewed confrontation.
Going forward, the test of the Islamabad Memorandum will not be applause, but implementation. Yet, as of today, Pakistan has done what many thought beyond its reach: it has helped turn a gathering war into a negotiated process. *