PM Shehbaz, CDF Asim Munir head to Switzerland for Iran-US talks
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir departed early on Sunday morning for Switzerland to attend technical-level talks between Iran and the United States set for today. The development comes after the long-awaited peace deal was signed on Thursday, heralding an end to months of bitter animosity that had gripped the Middle East and plunged the world into an economic crisis. 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. In a statement issued in the morning, the Foreign Office (FO) said PM Shehbaz, accompanied by CDF and Chief of the Army Staff Munir, left for Bürgenstock to participate in “high-level talks on the implementation of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)”. The Prime Minister’s Office had confirmed the premier’s departure at around 1am. In its statement, the FO noted that the talks marked the first formal engagement between the US and Iran since the signing of the Islamabad MoU on June 17. It confirmed that high-level delegations from the US, Iran and Qatar will be part of the talks. “Pakistan will continue to support and advance the implementation of the understandings reached between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the US,” the FO affirmed. It added that PM Shehbaz is also “expected to hold bilateral interactions with the participating delegations from the Islamic Republic of Iran, Qatar, Switzerland and the US, to reaffirm Pakistan’s enduring commitment to dialogue and durable peace in the region”. “Pakistan’s facilitative role underscores its principled, balanced, and constructive approach throughout the crisis, including hosting earlier rounds of US-Iran talks and sustained diplomatic contacts that culminated in the Islamabad MoU.” US Vice President JD Vance took off for Switzerland on Saturday, saying negotiators would discuss Iran’s nuclear programme and the Lebanon ceasefire. “I think we’re going t