Pakistan spent the first half of 2026 basking in an unfamiliar role: peacemaker. Its PM and Field Marshall helped broker a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, and for a moment, Islamabad looked like the region's most unlikely power broker. But that ceasefire has since come apart in less than 3 weeks, with fresh strikes, dead civilians, and a shut Strait of Hormuz reminding everyone how fragile the deal always was.
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