‘Pakistan for Peace’: The 111-day road to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding

ISLAMABAD: In a hotel overlooking Lake Lucerne in Switzerland's Bürgenstock resort, senior officials from the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar gathered on Sunday for high-level talks on implementing the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, the agreement that ended more than three months of war between Washington and Tehran and opened a path toward broader negotiations.

The talks mark the latest chapter in a diplomatic effort that Pakistani officials say spanned 111 days, involved around 250 high-level engagements and brought together dozens of countries and international organizations in support of a negotiated settlement.

According to Pakistan TV Digital's compilation of information released by government sources, Pakistan's leadership conducted approximately 170 telephone calls and 80 in-person meetings during the crisis. 

The effort engaged 49 countries across five continents, as well as major international organizations including the United Nations, European Union, Gulf Cooperation Council, Commonwealth and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

For Pakistan, the agreement represents the culmination of months of diplomacy aimed not only at ending a conflict between the United States and Iran, but also at preventing a broader regional war that threatened global energy supplies, international trade routes and economic stability.

How the war started

The conflict began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched air strikes against Iran, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggering a rapid escalation across the region.

Iran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting American military facilities and allied positions across the Middle East, including Israel. Tehran also restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas trade passes.

The disruption rattled energy markets and raised fears of a wider regional confrontation with global economic consequences.

Within days of the first strikes, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar began contacting regional leaders and key capitals across the Gulf and the broader Muslim world, urging restraint and seeking diplomatic channels before the conflict could spread further.

The war widens

For weeks, diplomatic efforts unfolded alongside intensifying fighting.

Iran expanded its military operations by launching missile and drone attacks against Gulf states accused of hosting American military assets. Tehran also threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb waterway, raising concerns about disruptions to another critical global shipping route.

The death toll continued to rise, with thousands reported killed across Iran and Lebanon as fighting intensified and Israel's campaign against Hezbollah expanded alongside the wider conflict.

"Pakistan did not just stop the US-Iran war, but a regional war," analyst Shaukat Piracha told Pakistan TV Digital while commenting on the crisis.

On April 7, US President Donald Trump warned that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back" if diplomacy failed to gain traction.

The first breakthrough

A day later, PM Sharif announced that Pakistan had helped secure a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, marking the first significant pause in hostilities since the conflict began.

The breakthrough shifted Pakistan's role from crisis management toward sustained mediation, with diplomatic outreach expanding simultaneously across Washington, Tehran, Beijing, Moscow, European capitals and key regional partners.

Islamabad Talks

A major turning point came on April 11 and 12 when Pakistan hosted direct talks in Islamabad between a US delegation of roughly 300 officials led by Vice President JD Vance and a 70-member Iranian delegation headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

The discussions represented the highest-level direct engagement between American and Iranian officials in decades.

Chaired by PM Sharif, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir, and FM Dar, the negotiations stretched across 21 hours and three rounds of discussions.

The talks ended without an agreement and were followed by renewed tensions, including the announcement of a US naval blockade.

Yet the Islamabad discussions established a direct channel that both sides continued to use in the months that followed, even when prospects for a breakthrough appeared increasingly remote.

Behind the scenes

What followed was the most intensive phase of the mediation effort.

Sharif, Dar and Munir engaged counterparts in Riyadh, Doha, Ankara, Beijing, Moscow, Cairo, Tehran and Washington through a combination of shuttle diplomacy and near-daily telephone consultations.

Field Marshal Munir travelled to Tehran on multiple occasions for security consultations while maintaining continuous engagement with key stakeholders throughout the negotiations.

Addressing Pakistan's National Assembly, PM Sharif later said Munir remained actively involved "day and night" during the most sensitive phases of the talks.

Pakistan and China jointly proposed a five-point framework for de-escalation, while the R-4 grouping comprising Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Egypt met repeatedly to coordinate diplomatic efforts.

FM Dar attended the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, participated in discussions at the United Nations Security Council in New York and held meetings with senior American officials in Washington.

PM Sharif travelled to Beijing to secure support from Chinese President Xi Jinping, while European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas visited Islamabad for a strategic dialogue focused on regional stability.

By June, Pakistani officials were coordinating with counterparts from across the Middle East, Europe, Africa and North America as negotiations entered their final phase.

The breakthrough

On June 14, Pakistan announced that the United States and Iran had agreed on a framework known as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.

The agreement called for an end to military operations, the reopening of critical maritime routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, and the launch of a 60-day implementation framework covering issues ranging from regional security arrangements to Iran's nuclear programme and frozen assets.

PM Sharif later described the development as "not merely an agreement between two countries, but a triumph of peace and diplomacy."

The memorandum was electronically signed on June 17 by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Since then, implementation talks have moved to Switzerland, where PM Sharif, Field Marshal Munir, US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian officials are participating in high-level discussions aimed at advancing commitments under the agreement and addressing issues including Lebanon, Iran's nuclear program, frozen Iranian assets and future negotiations between Washington and Tehran.