Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Islamabad was notable not merely because it came days after the first round of post-war US-Iran talks in Switzerland, nor because it was his first major foreign trip since the end of the Iran war. What made the visit significant was the message it carried. Standing beside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Iranian president praised Pakistan’s “responsible and visionary” role during the crisis and spoke of elevating bilateral relations to a level befitting the two countries’ standing in the Islamic world. Such diplomatic courtesies are common. The timing, however, was not.
The visit came at a moment when West Asia is beginning to adjust to a reality few anticipated several months ago. Iran has emerged battered but intact. The Strait of Hormuz, whose closure rattled global markets, is gradually returning to commercial use. New Lebanon-Israel negotiations are underway in Washington, even if they remain overshadowed by the broader US-Iran understanding. Across the region, attention is shifting from the conduct of the war to the shape of the peace that follows.
The result may not be a new Middle East. But it is a more complicated one.
For nearly two decades, the dominant assumption in the region was that security would shape politics. Today, politics is once again shaping security. The clearest evidence is not found in summit communiqués but in shipping data. Commercial traffic through Hormuz has rebounded as traders respond to the prospect of relative stability.
It is within this context that Pakistan’s role deserves examination. Islamabad’s contribution during the crisis has understandably attracted attention. Yet the larger question is whether Pakistan can convert diplomatic relevance into strategic influence.
The challenge is particularly acute because Pakistan’s economic relationship with Iran remains strikingly underdeveloped. For decades, geography has promised more than policy has delivered. Pezeshkian’s emphasis on removing technical barriers and operationalising existing agreements suggests that both sides recognise this gap. Whether they can close it is another matter.
All said and done, the post-war moment presents an opportunity that did not exist before as the region’s principal actors increasingly share an interest in stability. *