Worried about surging oil prices and caught off guard by the resilience of the Iranian regime, the White House pressed Pakistan to step in as an intermediary to secure a temporary ceasefire with Tehran, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENT“Pakistan’s crucial role, as a Muslim-majority neighbour and intermediary, was to sell it to Tehran,” the report said. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, a proposal put forward by Pakistan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later made the two-week proposal public on social media after Munir spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Sharif, who presented the plan as Pakistan’s initiative, inadvertently included a subject line at the top of his post: “draft — Pakistan’s PM message on X”, the report added.

Source: The Telegraph April 09, 2026 04:49 UTC