Pakistan Steps Up Diplomacy as Ishaq Dar Visits China Amid Iran Crisis

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar on Tuesday embarked on a one-day visit to China to hold consultations with his Chinese counterpart on the evolving situation in the Middle East, Pakistani foreign Ministry announced.

“At the invitation of the Foreign Minister of China, Mr Wang Yi, the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, will undertake a visit to China on 31 March 2026” reads a Press Release of the Ministry.

Pakistan and China enjoy an all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, characterized by close coordination and regular consultations on regional and international issues.

In this context, the upcoming visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to hold in-depth discussions on regional developments, as well as bilateral and global issues of mutual interest.

Pakistan is making diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the war in the Persian Gulf between Iran, Israel and United States. The past few days have witnessed intense missile and drone attacks from both sides.

Tehran has been heavily bombed by Americans and Israelis using their missiles and drones. Some of these attacks were aimed at Iranian energy infrastructure.
Iran on the other hand has struck Israeli city of Dimona where Israel’s nuclear weapons program is based.

Pakistani diplomatic efforts seemed to have made some headway when President Trump told American media that ceasefire was within reach.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that Pakistan might host direct talks between Iranian and American representatives in Islamabad.

In this context, observers are attaching immense value to Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s visit to Beijing. It has been reported that Iranians are demanding international guarantees that it would not be attacked again to arrive at a ceasefire agreement with US and Israel. Some of the analysts are of the opinion that China could act as a guarantor for such a ceasefire agreement.

Shortly after Dar departed for the trip, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said China and Pakistan will “strengthen” their cooperation on Iran.
“The two foreign ministers will strengthen strategic communication and coordination on the Iran situation and… make new efforts toward advocating for peace,” Mao told a press conference, calling China and Pakistan “all-weather” strategic partners.

The visit comes after Dar publicly hinted that Pakistan could host direct US-Iran talks in the coming days, as Islamabad stepped up efforts to position itself as a venue for negotiations.

Islamabad hosted a four-country meeting over the weekend involving Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Egypt, where foreign ministers met for about 100 minutes and emphasized the need for de-escalation and dialogue. The ministers backed efforts to create conditions for structured negotiations between Washington and Tehran before departing for Beijing.

The Pakistani efforts have earned the country international applause as these efforts are generally supported by most of the countries of the world.
Pakistani officials and especially Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar have been saying that Pakistan is relaying messages between Washington and Tehran
A U.S. proposal, reportedly 15 points, has been passed to Iran, which, reportedly, Iran has rejected. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has publicly offered Pakistan is ready to host direct negotiations if both sides agree.