LAHORE: “Islamabad has drawn international respect for brokering a two-week ceasefire and hosting the US-Iran talks, but its premature promotion of the `Islamabad Accord’ before negotiations even began, mishandled public expectations and risked overplaying its role”.

Having commented on the peace talks, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s five senior incarcerated leaders have suggested in their letter on Wednesday that Pakistan should have “stuck to its role of a facilitator and not assumed the responsibility of a mediator.”

Given the deep trust deficit and complexities between Washington and Tehran, they stated that Islamabad should have acted like a facilitator rather than assume the responsibility of a mediator, if it wanted to sustain its credibility and build on this diplomatic opening.

They stated that expecting a breakthrough in the very first face-to-face meeting after a gap of 47 years would have been nothing short of a miracle. The role of Israel as a spoiler was a well-established fact. Continuous bombing over Lebanon, while the talks were in progress in Islamabad, was a clear indication of the Israeli’s intentions, they stated.

Say hype around talks risks eroding country’s credibility

Explaining their opinion, five leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Omer Sarfraz Cheema and Mian Mehmoodur Rashid said the United States must pay attention to the statement of Mr Javad Zarif, former foreign minister of Iran and the principal negotiator of Iran, in the Joint Comprehensive plan of action agreement signed during the Obama administration. Mr Zarif is of the view that it is still not too late to understand that dictation and threats will not yield results, they suggested.

Asserting the need for a complete support to the process of negotiations from all political parties of Pakistan, particularly the PTI, the main opposition party, they stressed it would be a mature and responsible approach in the national and regional interest.

Lauding the professionalism demonstrated by the MOFA, the PTI leaders said the foreign office enjoyed a huge advantage of institutional memory. “Pakistan must build on the positives of the Islamabad Talks, and continue to strive for a comprehensive peace. We must not shy away from our efforts for regional peace and must continue to protect the world from a global recession,” they stated.

Recognising that face-to-face negotiations between the US and Iran delegations in Islamabad and exchange of notes between the technical experts are undoubtedly significant developments, they said the both sides, however, need to show flexibility to provide each other face saving and some result-oriented developments.

They stressed that both sides must not allow the warmongers to gain upper hand and scuttle the peace process.

“Hindsight suggests that the Indus water Treaty of 1960, was never a foregone conclusion. The US-China breakthrough via Islamabad in 1971 was a development the world was not expecting. The Geneva Accord of 1987 was a leap forward and the Doha Agreement of 2021 was not easy, they said and stressed that Pakistan must continue to play its constructive role in the hope that there was a plan and a force above human manipulations.

PUNJAB ASSEMBLY: The PTI’s five senior leaders have also asked the Punjab Assembly to hold its horses and avoid ill-timed resolutions. They stressed that the media managers should have exercised restraint and subtlety and not get involved in an unnecessary hype.

“Our spin doctors must calm down and let the foreign office play the lead role. Iran should draw a clear lesson between Pakistan’s current role and Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Tel Aviv. Our Gulf friends and brothers in the GCC states must distinguish between regional stabilisers and regional spoilers. A dramatic shift from demoralising freedom of passage of navigation to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz can lead to an escalation, undermining the spirit behind the Islamabad talks,” they explained.

Whether we achieve a breakthrough or head towards a breakdown, they said one thing was certain that the region would never be the same as it was, before the conflict.

“Finally we want to thank Pope Leo for visiting a mosque and promoting interfaith harmony,” they expressed their gratitude.

The incarcerated leaders’ letter has been shared by their counsel Rana Mudassar Umer.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2026