Pakistan's Sharif to represent Islamabad at US-Iran talks in Switzerland

Sharif to lead Pakistani delegation

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will personally represent Islamabad during technical-level negotiations between Washington and Tehran scheduled for Sunday in Switzerland, a senior official from the prime minister's office told Anadolu on Saturday. "Yes, the prime minister is going to Switzerland," the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media. Sharif's participation underscores Pakistan's pivotal mediation role following the April 8 ceasefire that halted hostilities between the United States and Iran.

Coordination ahead of Swiss talks

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is also traveling to Switzerland, having arrived in Tehran on Saturday afternoon to discuss matters related to the next round of talks with Iranian leadership, according to government sources. However, the Foreign Ministry delegation will officially represent Pakistan throughout the implementation phase of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, the sources added. Naqvi's stopover in the Iranian capital precedes the technical-level meeting, which aims to initiate a 60-day negotiation period agreed upon by both parties.

Islamabad's diplomatic breakthrough

The Swiss meeting follows the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which established a framework for direct engagement after decades of hostility. Iran had initially postponed the technical discussions from Friday to Sunday to protest what it called continued Israeli ceasefire violations in Lebanon, though diplomatic momentum resumed after Islamabad hosted the highest-level direct talks between Washington and Tehran on April 12-13 — the first such encounter since the two nations severed diplomatic ties in 1979. The upcoming round represents the next concrete step toward normalizing relations under Pakistani facilitation.