Iran Questions Pakistan's Mediation as Trump Extends Ceasefire

There is growing scepticism regarding the effectiveness of the communication channel facilitated by the Pakistani leadership, which appears to be yielding little more than a diplomatic deadlock.

Highlighting the lack of tangible progress despite the outreach, an SNN analyst said, "According to the plan we had, Asim Munir has come to Tehran, received our message, and this message was supposed to be given to the American side, which naturally he must have given. But as far as I know, and we have discussed it at high levels, we have not yet received a response as to whether this message was accepted or not. And I would even say, even if we do receive a response, he (Munir( will go back and sit in Islamabad and the other party will say, 'Well, I don't accept this at all.'

The distrust is clearly visible and the peace process has reportedly reached a standstill, with the Iranian side yet to see any commitment from Washington through the Pakistani intermediary.

These aspersions from Tehran come even as US President Donald Trump abruptly extended the ceasefire with Iran, a development that has highlighted Islamabad's desperate attempts to project itself as a central diplomatic player.

The decision, announced late on Wednesday, reportedly followed a "request" from the Pakistani leadership just as the previous deadline was set to expire.

Despite the extension, the US President maintained his aggressive posture against what he termed a "seriously fractured" Iranian administration, suggesting that the reprieve is merely a stay of execution until a unified proposal is produced.

The sudden shift in the US stance appeared to be a significant reversal from only hours earlier, when Trump told CNBC, "I don't want to do that. We don't have that much time," while indicating he expected to be "bombing" should the ceasefire terminate without resolution.

However, in a post on Truth Social, the US President cited the "seriously fractured" state of the Iranian government and a specific "request" from Pakistan's Army Chief, General Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as the primary factors behind the delay in military action.

Following the announcement, Shehbaz Sharif was quick to thank the US President for accepting the "request" to "extend the ceasefire to allow ongoing diplomatic efforts to take their course".

While the Pakistani Prime Minister claimed that "with the trust and confidence reposed in, Pakistan shall continue its earnest efforts for negotiated settlement of conflict," the move is widely seen as an attempt by a struggling Islamabad to buy time.

Sharif further confirmed that a second round of talks is scheduled to take place in Pakistan, though he notably failed to specify any date for the proceedings.

- ANI