Pakistan, April 19 -- Pakistan is already getting considerable credit for helping pull the region back from the brink, and rightly so; at a moment when escalation between Iran, Israel and the US was beginning to harden into something wider, Islamabad did not grandstand, issue ritual statements, or watch events from a safe distance. It moved with restraint, clarity and a clear sense of what was at stake.

Field Marshal Asim Munir's three-day visit to Iran focused on sustaining de-escalation, while the prime minister's outreach to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye kept a fragile regional alignment intact, and the four-country consultation involving Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt reinforced a diplomatic line centred on dialogue. Mor...