India, April 12 --  Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called them the "Islamabad talks." They began Saturday between US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, hosted on Pakistani soil. For Islamabad, this is not just diplomacy. It is survival.

Pakistan cannot afford these talks to fail. The reasons are geographical, political, economic, and military. A collapse could drag the country into a war it has no capacity to fight.

US-Israel-Iran Talks: Why Is Pakistan So Exposed?

Pakistan is located at the intersection of the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia. Iran and it have a long, porous border. Pakistani land is directly threatened by any escalation involving Tehran. The co...