Stepping off a plane on Wednesday evening, Field Marshal Asim Munir walked straight into the warm embrace of Iran’s foreign minister and chief negotiator, Abbas Araghchi. Dressed in full army fatigues, the powerful chief of Pakistan’s military cut an unusual figure as a beacon for peace. Yet that was just the role he intended to play.
Munir had rushed to Tehran in what many saw as a last-ditch attempt to revive Pakistan’s efforts to mediate an end to the war between the US and Iran. Four days earlier, the US vice-president, JD Vance, left Islamabad, after more than 21 hours of talks between the US and Iran failed to broker a deal.
