Pakistan, April 16 -- Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir's arrival in Tehran marks a decisive acceleration in a mediation effort that had already placed Pakistan at the centre of the first direct U.S.-Iran engagement since 1979, a 47-year diplomatic freeze broken in Islamabad through nearly 21 hours of negotiations last week that brought both sides to the edge of a framework without securing closure.

Pakistan has moved from convening talks to carrying the process into Iran itself, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's ongoing visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkiye signal coordination across three of the region's most consequential capitals at a time when the two-week ceasefire is set to expire on April 22 and remains strained by disputes ...