Pakistan on Wednesday announced that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, had agreed to an immediate ceasefire, including in Lebanon, effective immediately, and invited their delegations to Islamabad on April 10 for talks aimed at reaching a lasting settlement of disputes.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the ceasefire in an early-morning post on X, welcoming the move and extending his “deepest gratitude” to the leadership of both countries.
Both sides have displayed “remarkable wisdom and understanding” and remained constructively engaged in furthering the cause of peace and stability, the prime minister said, expressing hope that the ‘Islamabad Talks’ would succeed in achieving sustainable peace and that more positive developments would follow in the coming days.
The prime minister, who helped mediate the ceasefire, also invited delegations from both countries to Islamabad on April 10 to “hold further negotiations towards a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes”.
However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US has not yet agreed.
“There are discussions about in-person talks, but nothing is final until announced by the President or the White House,” Leavitt said.
Israel has also agreed to the ceasefire deal between the United States and Iran, a White House official confirmed.
Trump agrees to two-week ceasefire
The breakthrough came after a request by Pakistan, with US President Donald Trump saying early on Wednesday that he would suspend the bombing of Iran for two weeks if Tehran fully reopened the vital Strait of Hormuz.
At the same time, Iran said that if attacks against the country were halted, it would cease its defensive operations and that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be possible for two weeks.
Trump’s statement came less than two hours before his ultimatum (8pm ET on April 8) for Iran to make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz was set to lapse.
He had renewed his threat to Iran, saying “a whole civilisation will die tonight”, as Tehran showed no sign of accepting his ultimatum.
With hours left for the deadline to end, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took to the social media platform X to say, “Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in the near future.
“To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks,” he said.
Pakistan has positioned itself as a facilitator in the peace process between Tehran and Washington for an end to ongoing hostilities in the Middle East that began with the US and Israel launching strikes in Iran on February 28.
