PM Shehbaz, CDF Munir meet US VP Vance ahead of US-Iran talks
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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir held a bilateral meeting with the US negotiating team, led by Vice President JD Vance, ahead of the highly anticipated talks in Switzerland’s Burgenstock resort on Sunday, state broadcaster PTV reported. Delegations from the US, Iran, Qatar, and Pakistan arrived at the venue earlier for ‘technical-level’ talks to iron out details of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Tehran and Washington to cease hostilities and negotiate a framework to end the war. Under the agreement, the US and Iran have agreed on a framework to end the war, lift the US blockade of Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The talks between the two parties are set to begin shortly, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said as delegations from the US, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar arrived at the venue. A senior official of the Prime Minister’s Office told Dawn that a delegation-level meeting of four countries was expected to be held 4pm PKT, where the heads of the delegations are expected to speak. It is not yet confirmed if the Pakistani delegation will return today, the source added. State broadcaster PTV, which is reporting live from Burgenstock, said that technical-level talks between the US and Iranian delegations could “extend into tomorrow” and that there was no formal timeframe announced yet, and that the discussions would continue for “as long as necessary”. However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei, speaking to IRNA, said that a one-day session was planned, which is expected to feature bilateral meetings with mediators Pakistan and Qatar in the morning, followed by quadrilateral talks in the afternoon. The Foreign Office (FO) said that Pakistan will hold bilateral interactions with the participating delegations from Iran, Qatar, Switzerland and the US, to “reaffirm Pakistan’s enduring commitment to dialogue and durable peace in the region”. Pakistani delegation arrives The Prime Minister’