00:00Let's get a view from Islamabad now. I remember on Friday, talks between America and Iran are now
00:06scheduled. Joining me now is Hamid Meir, senior journalist and news presenter. Appreciate
00:13your joining us, Hamid. I want to ask you, how do you see Pakistan's role in this ceasefire?
00:22Was it the role of a mediator or simply was it the role of a facilitator or a courier sending
00:30messages between Iran and America? What really was Pakistan's role?
00:37The Pakistan's role was explained by President Trump. Pakistan's role was explained by the
00:46Iranian leadership. Everyone is appreciating the role of Pakistan. But yes, there is a
00:53technical question that, was it the role of a mediator or a facilitator? Because, you see,
01:02there were two, three parties in this war. One side, it was the United States and Israel.
01:11Other side, it was Iran. And then some Gulf countries also joined the United States and
01:19Israel because Iranians were attacking the U.S. bases in retaliation. So Pakistan don't have
01:26diplomatic relations with Israel. So a mediator should have access to all the parties. So Pakistan
01:34had a limited access. It had access only with the U.S. and Iran. So I think that Pakistan was
01:43playing the
01:43role of a facilitator. It was a peace initiative which was actually started immediately after the war.
01:53On the 1st of March, our deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishak Dar, he called both the
02:00parties. He called Abbas Irakchi and he also contacted the U.S. administration. And he also
02:08contacted Saudis and other stakeholders in the Gulf countries. So initially, Pakistan was only trying to
02:17create some communication channel between Iraq, between Iran and Saudi Arabia, because, you know,
02:24Pakistan have a defense cooperation pact with Saudi Arabia. So Pakistan was telling Iranians that please
02:31don't attack Saudi Arabia. We have a defense cooperation pact with them. So please don't create a situation in
02:40which we have to take some decision which you will not like, which you may not like. But slowly and
02:46gradually, Turkey also jumped in, Egypt also jumped in and then Pakistan was forced to take the position
02:55of a facilitator. So we were playing the role of a facilitator, but on April 10th. Yes.
03:06No, you're saying you were playing the role of a facilitator, but there will be those, Hamid,
03:12who will say that Pakistan was essentially taking instructions from the Trump administration.
03:17There has been some controversy even over the tweet that Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif did today
03:23with the word draft written to Pakistan Prime Minister, almost as if it's an instruction from White House,
03:29what he has to tweet. Was Pakistan essentially taking instructions from United States and then
03:36communicating them to Iran?
03:38So Rajdeep, what about the statement and tweet posted by the Foreign Minister of Iran, Mr. Abbas
03:49Araki, and he ended that statement with Pakistan, Zindabad. So what is your view about that statement,
03:58which was posted by the Foreign Minister of Iran? So if he is saying Pakistan, Zindabad, long-lived Pakistan,
04:06Iran, it means that Pakistan was enjoying the full confidence of the Iranian government and the people
04:13of Iran were on the roads. They were chanting slogans, Pakistan, Zindabad. They were, you see,
04:21coming out on the roads with the flags of Pakistan in their hands. And Trump was also praising Prime Minister
04:30Shahbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir. So Pakistan was in a unique position. You may like it or not,
04:36but Pakistan was enjoying the confidence of both the parties, both Iran and United States.
04:44You know, it's interesting you're saying that because Pakistan has had an on-off relationship with
04:49Iran in particular. You share a border with the country, but it's been a difficult relationship over the years.
04:55Do you believe what has changed? What has changed, according to you, for Pakistan to play this role?
05:01Is it simply the geographical location of Pakistan? Is it the fact, as you said, Pakistan has leveraged,
05:06particularly with Saudi Arabia? Is it the fact that Pakistan has built a close relationship over with the U.S.,
05:14which over the years is accused of using Pakistan, whether it's as a frontline ally in the war in Afghanistan,
05:20or now to do this peace deal with Iran? What has changed for suddenly Pakistan to have a better
05:28relationship with Iran in particular? Yes, the relationship between Iran and Pakistan improved
05:37in the last two years. And I must give the credit to the late Supreme Leader of Iran,
05:44Pakistan, Mr. Ayatollah Ali Khan, because he had a very special relationship with Pakistan. He had a very
05:54special feelings for Pakistan. You know, he was, he authored a book on the life and philosophy of
06:03Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, Alama Iqbal, who is the national poet of Pakistan. So he had a very special relationship,
06:11not only with the national poet of Pakistan, but the, but of Pakistan. The reason was because I was also
06:18not aware, I was told by this special relationship just a few months back, when Mr. Bakr Kalibaf, the
06:27speaker of the Iranian parliament, visited Pakistan, and I interviewed him. So one of the delegates told me
06:34that Mr. Ayatollah Ali Khan spent some of the time in Karachi, in Pakistan, when he was forced to
06:48leave Iran. He was in exile. So he spent some of his exile days in Pakistan and in Karachi.
06:55He made many friends. And that's why he had a very special relationship. But during the
07:03war with Iraq in the 80s, Pakistan was, you see, siding with Iraq, and Pakistan was involved in
07:16Afghanistan. So that's why Pakistan was a close ally of the United States of America. So we developed some
07:22problems with Iran. But slowly and gradually, in the last two years, the problems were resolved.
07:29You know, there is another angle, another point which is not known to many people,
07:36that in last one year, just a few days before his assassination, the Iranian supreme leader,
07:44late Ayatollah Ali Khan-Nai, played a very significant and important role
07:50in addressing the militancy problem in Balochistan. Because some of the militant organizations in
07:59Balochistan, they were using the Iranian territory as their hideout. So they provided some cooperation
08:07and help to Pakistan, and Pakistan was able to fix that problem. So that was a turning point,
08:14and Pakistan and Iran were able to fix that problem.
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