Kabul, May 25 ( IANS) Pakistan’s perceived “negative” global image – stemming from allegations of involvement in the major international terrorist attacks, complex religious – ideological alignments, strained diplomatic relations and past failures in mediation has undermined its credibility as mediator between the US and Iran.
As a result, Islamabad’s involvement remained peripheral, largely confined to offering a diplomatic platform rather than shaping the direction of negotiations, a report has highlighted.
A report by the Afghan Diaspora Network, citing anonymous US officials, claimed that Iran shifted several military and civilian aircraft, including a reconnaissance RC-130 plane, to Pakistan’s Nur Khan Air Base during the Iran-US conflict, possibly to protect them from American strikes.
At the same time, Pakistan projected itself as a diplomatic bridge between Tehran and Washington, while Islamabad acknowledged that Iranian aircraft were present at its facility for “diplomacy-related logistics” linked to ceasefire discussions.
“While Pakistan has publicly presented itself as a mediator in the ongoing war between the US-Israel, and Iran, the boasting is much farther from the realities. Islamabad is not a mediator but just a facilitator of talks, as revealed by the developments of direct talks between American and Iranian delegates in Pakistan’s capital. Pakistan’s cosy approach toward the US and the mistrust of Iran and Israel towards Islamabad further limited its credibility,” the report detailed.
“The ancillary role it played during the negotiations and in shaping up the outcome can be gauged from the fact that Islamabad carried no weight in any part of the actual talks. It was evident that Pakistan could not influence either party in the negotiations in order to bridge the trust gap, thus ending up becoming just a logistical partner in the entire process,” it added.
According to the report, Pakistan also had no influence over the post-talk escalations, including the US threats of blockades at the Strait of Hormuz. It added that although Islamabad initially emerged as a key stakeholder in negotiations, the subsequent developments and eventual outcome revealed that “Pakistan was a mere postman in the mediation game.”
Highlighting Pakistan’s often criticised international standing shaped by concerns over economic crisis, terror activities and growing extremism, the report said, “It may have been unusual for the world to see Pakistan taking the center stage as negotiations between the US and Iran began, as the news flow from the country is usually associated with terrorism, Islamic extremism, coups, inflation, poverty, and financial problems.”
–IANS
scor/ksk/as