Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made an urgent appeal Tuesday for the United States and Iran to pause hostilities for two weeks, a last-ditch diplomatic maneuver that came just hours before President Trump's threatened bombing campaign deadline.
Sharif posted on X that he was calling on Trump to extend his deadline and requesting Iran open the Strait of Hormuz as a goodwill gesture during the proposed ceasefire window. He also urged all parties in Middle East conflicts to halt fighting temporarily to allow negotiations space to work.
The White House confirmed receipt of the proposal. Press Secretary Karoline Leavit told Axios that Trump has been made aware of the initiative and a response is forthcoming, though she offered no detail on the administration's position.
Islamabad has spent weeks serving as a go-between for Washington and Tehran, positioning itself as a neutral intermediary as tensions escalated toward military confrontation. The timing of Sharif's proposal underscores how precarious negotiations remain, with both sides apparently still engaged despite Trump's ultimatum.
In his statement, Sharif suggested recent diplomatic momentum could yield real progress. He wrote that
Comments