How Pakistan became the host for Iran-US parleys

The Islamabad talks between the US and Iran to end the war have failed.

- Shashi Shekhar

Little else could have been expected from US President Donald Trump considering his diatribes, Iran which has been resisting a needless war, Israel which was absent at the table, the Gulf nations that interfered behind the scenes and Pakistan that proved to be an ineffectual host. The failed attempt has left many questions in its wake. Will US Vice President JD Vance, who was in Islamabad for the talks and wanted to stop the war, now have to take a hard line? Iran was silently supported by China and Russia. It needs to be seen if they will openly take sides now. Energy supply for many economies, including India, remains at grave risk — the world, as a result, could be heading for tough times.Some in India were unhappy that Islamabad played the role of a “mediator”, unaware that Pakistan is doing exactly what it was created for. The name Pakistan was first used in Cambridge in 1933 by an Indian student, Chaudhry Rehmat Ali. Initially, no one took the idea seriously. Later, Allama Iqbal, the poet, gave it emotional support, and Mohammad Ali Jinnah threw his political weight behind it. Ishtiaq Ahmed, a Pakistan-born professor who lives in Sweden, wrote in his book, Pakistan: The Garrison State, that the British wanted to keep India under their control but their grip was slipping fast.