Bilawal terms Islamabad Talks ‘biggest achievement so far’ in de-escalation efforts between US, Iran

Former foreign minister and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari termed the US-Iran talks taking place in Islamabad on Saturday the “biggest achievement so far” in efforts to end the Middle East war.

He expressed these views during an interview with Al Jazeera, during which he was asked how difficult it would be for Pakistan to get something “concrete” out of the talks, which are taking place in the federal capital after Islamabad brokered a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran.

In his response, Bilawal said: “The fact that the talks are even happening is the biggest achievement thus far. It’s significant that the ceasefire is in effect [and] the bombing has stopped in Iran and across most of the Middle East, and the two major [powers] are now negotiating.

“We hope that this ceasefire is built upon towards a more lasting and permanent resolution to this conflict.”

Bilawal added that not only the people of Pakistan, but the people of the entire world were watching the talks with “cautious optimism”.

“We bore witness over the course of the last six weeks or so the devastation of war; not only in terms of the human cost … but the economic cost, which has reverberated around the world,” he said.

The interviewer also mentioned the Strait of Hormuz — which has turned out to be a pivotal point of contention in the US-Israeli war on Iran. In this context, it was pointed out to Bilawal that several countries would be interested in the talks’ result, and he was asked how Pakistan could play a “balancing act” between all involved sides — Iranians, Americans, Gulf countries and China.

To that, Bilawal replied that multiple countries had been involved in creating the diplomatic space necessary for the ceasefire.

“I would like to thank the leadership of Iran [and] the United States for agreeing to have this ceasefire and continue discussion, but then also the leadership, not only of Pakistan, but of China, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Egypt, Qatar and many other GCC countries,” Bilawal said.

He noted that the war had affected the entire world, so “everybody has been making a joint and collective effort to try and create the necessary diplomatic space for this ceasefire to take place and for further discussions to now proceed”.

“Obviously, they’re complex, they’re challenging, but I think what we witnessed over the last six weeks is war is not an option,” he said of the talks.

“This conflict has had significant consequences and will continue to have significant consequences if they don’t manage to find a middle ground towards a more permanent peace,” he added.

Asked if alliances were being redrawn and about Pakistan’s potential role going forward, Bilawal said that everyone was “focused firstly on the now” and resolving the current conflict.

“This current conflict has obviously had the most impact on the Middle East, not only on Iran, but the way in which they have been attacked … various GCC countries, I’m sure those issues need to be addressed. But that can only happen, I believe, if this ceasefire is permanent and we have a solution to this conflict,” Bilawal explained.