ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday welcomed recent talks between Iran and the United States in Muscat, the capital of Oman, urging both sides to resolve longstanding differences through dialogue and diplomacy.
The indirect discussions, held on April 12 under Omani mediation, marked the first engagement between the two countries since 2017 and focused on reducing tensions over Iran’s nuclear program, among other issues.
Both sides described the talks as constructive and agreed to continue the dialogue.
“Pakistan welcomes the talks between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America that were held on 12 April 2025 in Muscat under the good offices of Oman,” the foreign office said in a statement.
“Pakistan considers that dialogue and diplomacy will promote peace and stability in the region and advance the objective of resolution of differences and disputes on the basis of negotiations and mutual respect,” it added. “We encourage the parties to continue to follow this path.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff led their respective delegations. While the talks were primarily indirect, reports indicated that the two officials briefly spoke face-to-face, signaling a possible thaw in relations.
Iran has insisted its missile defense program remains non-negotiable, while the US has maintained its “maximum pressure” campaign, demanding that Iran not weaponize its nuclear capability.
Relations between the US and Iran have been fraught since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and the two nations have had no formal diplomatic ties since 1980.
Tensions escalated after the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018. The recent talks in Muscat have come against the backdrop of Israel’s military engagements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as Syria and Lebanon.
Last year, Iran and Israel also launched missile and drone strikes, marking their first direct military confrontation.
Pakistan urges Iran, US to resolve differences through diplomacy following talks in Oman
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Pakistan urges Iran, US to resolve differences through diplomacy following talks in Oman
- The indirect discussions between the two states on April 12 marked their first engagement since 2017
- The talks have come against the backdrop of Israel’s military engagements in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon
Imran Khan’s party shutdown draws mixed response; government calls it ‘ineffective’
- Ex-PM Khan’s PTI party had called for a ‘shutter-down strike’ to protest Feb. 8, 2024 general election results
- While businesses reportedly remained closed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, they continued as normal elsewhere
ISLAMABAD: A nationwide “shutter-down strike” called by former prime minister Imran Khan’s party drew a mixed response in Pakistan on Sunday, underscoring political polarization in the country two years after a controversial general election.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PIT) opposition party had urged the masses to shut businesses across the country to protest alleged rigging on the second anniversary of the Feb. 8, 2024 general election.
Local media reported a majority of businesses remained closed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, governed by the PTI, while business continued as normal in other provinces as several trade associations distanced themselves from the strike call.
Arab News visited major markets in Islamabad’s G-6, G-9, I-8 and F-6 sectors, as well as commercial hubs in Rawalpindi, which largely remained operational on Sunday, a public holiday when shops, restaurants and malls typically remain open in Pakistan.
“Pakistan’s constitution says people will elect their representatives. But on 8th February 2024, people were barred from exercising their voting right freely,” Allama Raja Nasir Abbas Jafri, the PTI opposition leader in the Senate, said at a protest march near Islamabad’s iconic Faisal Mosque.
Millions of Pakistanis voted for national and provincial candidates during the Feb. 8, 2024 election, which was marred by a nationwide shutdown of cellphone networks and delayed results, leading to widespread allegations of election manipulation by the PTI and other opposition parties. The caretaker government at the time and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) both rejected the allegations.
Khan’s PTI candidates contested the Feb. 8 elections as independents after the party was barred from the polls. They won the most seats but fell short of the majority needed to form a government, which was made by a smattering of rival political parties led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The government insists the polling was conducted transparently and that Khan’s party was not denied a fair chance.
Authorities in the Pakistani capital deployed a heavy police contingent on the main road leading to the Faisal Mosque on Sunday. Despite police presence and the reported arrest of some PTI workers, Jafri led local PTI members and dozens of supporters who chanted slogans against the government at the march.
“We promise we will never forget 8th February,” Jafri said.
The PTI said its strike call was “successful” and shared videos on official social media accounts showing closed shops and markets in various parts of the country.
The government, however, dismissed the protest as “ineffective.”
“The public is fed up with protest politics and has strongly rejected PTI’s call,” Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on X.
“It’s Sunday, yet there is still hustle and bustle.”
Ajmal Baloch, All Pakistan Traders Association president, said they neither support such protest calls, nor prevent individuals from closing shops based on personal political affiliation.
“It’s a call from a political party and we do not close businesses on calls of any political party,” Baloch told Arab News.
“We only give calls of strike on issues related to traders.”
Khan was ousted from power in April 2022 after what is widely believed to be a falling out with the country’s powerful generals. The army denies it interferes in politics. Khan has been in prison since August 2023 and faces a slew of legal challenges that ruled him out of the Feb. 8 general elections and which he says are politically motivated to keep him and his party away from power.
In Jan. 2025, an accountability court convicted Khan and his wife in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust land corruption case, sentencing him to 14 years and her to seven years after finding that the trust was used to acquire land and funds in exchange for alleged favors. The couple denies any wrongdoing.
