The Interior Minister of Pakistan, Mohsin Naqvi, reviewed the security arrangements in the country’s capital — Islamabad — where the US-Iran peace talks are scheduled to take place over the weekend to resolve the West Asia conflict. This week only, the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, from where one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.
As said, Pakistan is playing the role of ‘mediator’ between the US and Iran.
Delegates to arrive today ?
According to official sources, delegates from the United States and Iran are expected to arrive by tonight to participate in the talks over the weekend, for which more than 10,000 security personnel have been deployed in Islamabad.
However, no official statement has been issued by the Pakistan authorities on the arrival of the delegates yet.
Naqvi said that “hosting the US-Iran talks in Islamabad after the ceasefire is an honour for Pakistan” and directed that all possible measures be taken for hospitality and security of the incoming delegations.
He was informed that the Red Zone had been sealed and a control room established in the Ministry of Interior to monitor the situation. As part of security measures, a large-scale grand combing search operation was carried out in different areas of Islamabad at the direction of the Inspector General of Islamabad.
Special check points have been set up at the entrances and exits of the city, while all patrol units and special squads are patrolling throughout the city, and police are taking all possible measures to protect the lives and property of citizens.
Iranian officials deny negotiators travelling to Pakistan —
Meanwhile, Iran's official news agencies have firmly rejected the reports in international media claiming that senior officials such as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Bager Ghalibaf have travelled to Pakistan to negotiate with the United States, Press TV reported on Friday.
It is learnt that, citing comments by a senior official, sources informed the media outlet that until Israeli attacks stop in Lebanon and the US fulfills its commitment to the ceasefire in the country, the talks would remain on hold.
"The news from some media outlets that an Iranian negotiating team has arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, to negotiate with the Americans is completely false,” the source said.
Vance sets off to Pakistan to lead talks with Iran —
On the other hand, US Vice President JD Vance sets off on Friday to lead mediated talks with Iran in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. He is joined by Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who took part in three rounds of indirect talks with Iranian negotiators aimed at settling US concerns about Tehran's nuclear and ballistic weapons programs and its support for armed proxy groups in the Middle East before Trump and Israel launched the Feb 28 war against Iran.
The White House has provided scant detail about the format of the talks — whether they will be direct or indirect — and has not provided specific expectations for the meeting.
But the arrival of Vance for negotiations marks a rare moment of high-level US government engagement with the Iranian government. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the most direct contact had been when President Barack Obama, in September 2013, called newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran's nuclear program.
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