Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran
Tehran, Aug 1: Iran has renewed its offer to mediate between Pakistan and Afghanistan, urging the two neighbours to resume dialogue and resolve their long-running border disputes and recurring cross-border clashes.
The move comes with a touch of irony, as Pakistan had earlier sought to play the role of mediator between Iran and the United States. While Islamabad initially projected itself as a potential facilitator, diplomatic efforts eventually shifted to Qatar, which emerged as the key intermediary in the negotiations.
Pakistan's proposed Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, aimed at ending hostilities between Washington and Tehran, failed to gain traction despite early optimism.
The development also comes at a time when Pakistan is grappling with mounting domestic challenges, including economic difficulties, political instability, military influence over governance and strained ties with neighbouring countries.
Islamabad has historically aligned itself with Washington on key strategic issues, including backing the US campaign in Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, a policy later criticised by Pakistan's own defence minister. It had also joined the US-backed Baghdad Pact in the 1950s before expressing dissatisfaction over the alliance's inability to support its members during regional conflicts.
Pakistan has also played a diplomatic role in facilitating engagement between the US and China, while maintaining its close strategic partnership with Beijing alongside stronger ties with the Islamic world.
In the recent US-Iran engagement, Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir held meetings in Tehran and received public appreciation from US President Donald Trump. However, Qatar eventually assumed the central mediating role, leveraging its established communication channels with both Washington and Tehran, as well as its experience in facilitating high-level negotiations.
While the US accused Iran of undermining the arrangement, Tehran maintained that it had honoured its commitments and was justified in responding to US attacks. Pakistan, meanwhile, was unable to convert its diplomatic access into meaningful influence, with neither side relying sufficiently on Islamabad to sustain negotiations.
Pakistan has since maintained a low diplomatic profile on the issue without formally ending its mediation efforts.
Iran's renewed proposal now shifts attention to Pakistan's own regional dispute with Afghanistan.
Relations between Islamabad and Kabul remain strained over Pakistan's allegations that the Afghan Taliban provides sanctuary to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad blames for deadly attacks inside the country. Kabul rejects the accusations, insisting Pakistan should address its internal security challenges and opposing cross-border military operations.
Frequent border closures and armed clashes have disrupted trade and affected communities living along the Durand Line, the frontier recognised by Pakistan but disputed by successive Afghan governments, which have never formally accepted it as the international border.
Iran, which shares borders with both Pakistan and Afghanistan, has strong interests in regional stability. It hosts a large Afghan refugee population, faces security concerns linked to extremist groups, including the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), and relies on stable borders for trade and security.
By offering to mediate, Tehran is seeking to project itself as not only a neighbouring country but also a regional diplomatic player capable of facilitating dialogue between the two South Asian nations.