US transporter planes started flying into Rawalpindi’s Nur Khan Airbase late Sunday morning ferrying members of American diplomatic and technical teams and their specialized armoured vehicles. C-17 Globemaster III aircraft were spotted in the early afternoon as well. Sources say many members of the Iranian delegation have already arrived in the federal capital. Islamabad is all set for the second or possibly the final round of peace talks between the United States and Iran.
Sources within and without Pakistan are claiming that US Vice President James David Vance is expected to return to Islamabad in the next 24-30 hours along with special envoy Steve Witkoff, leading the US team into “final round” of negotiation. “Once details are agreed upon, don’t rule out the possibility of President Trump’s surprise visit to sign the final document,” a government source confided.
Meanwhile, Islamabad’s Red Zone is once again presenting a picture of a formidable fortress. Its adjoining areas have also been severely restricted for urban traffic, while heavy traffic has been advised to completely stay away from the capital territory until further notice. Hotels, hostels, inns and guest houses were commanded yesterday to shutdown business and all occupants were given marching orders. “They can either move in with friends or family or go home until situation returns to normalcy.”
Government sources confirm that over 10,000 police officers and personnel have been assigned security duties in the twin cities. Around 400 elite commandos, 100 sharp shooters, Dolphin Force and thousands of Punjab Highway Patrol personnel are over and above the massive contingent tasked to secure the nuclear capital.
The government will likely repeat the “zero or controlled info regime,” thereby keeping the media – national and international – at bay, well away from the venue for the meetings between the two delegations. Flocks of journalists will not be allowed into the Convention Centre and special passes will be provided only to the members of the foreign media, anchor persons of the Pakistani electronic media and journalists registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) as beat reporters. “The current dialogue can rightly be called the biggest diplomatic event in the world at the moment. Stakes are very high for multiple parties. It is not staged for media headlines. But, yes, media will be kept informed so that the world knows what is happening here,” a senior government official told The News.
Mood in Islamabad, however, has dampened a little, possibly because of sour and sceptic statements emanating from Washington DC and Tehran. While the speculation hurricanes that swept the capital for days after the arrival and departure of the high-level US and Iranian delegations that included Vice President Vance and the Iranian Speaker Mohammad Baghar Qalibaf germinated gossip that POTUS Donald Trump was also packing his travel bags to come to Pakistan to sign the peace deal. The finality of President Trump’s arrival still not confirmed despite him personally telling the American media that he could be travelling to Pakistan if all goes to plan.
Verbal spat between the Trump team and their Iranian counterpart is continuing nonetheless – possibly to please or appease domestic audiences. Writing on his Truth Social platform, President Trump wrote: Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz – A Total Violation of our Ceasefire Agreement! Naby of them were aimed at a French Ship, and a Freighters from the United Kingdom. That wasn’t nice, was it? My Representatives are going to Islamabad, Pakistan – They will be there tomorrow evening, for Negotiations. Iran recently announced that they were closing the Strait, which is strange, because our BLOCKADE has already closed it. They are helping us without knowing, and they are the ones that lose with closed passage, $500 Million Dollars a day! The United States loses nothing. In fact, many ships are headed, right now.”
Then President went into his usual threatening frenzy, saying: “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable deal, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!...IT’S TIME FOR THE IRAN KILLING MACHINE TO END.”
Iranian leadership also remains sceptical and President Trump’s social media posts, public posturing and threatening statements. Speaker Qalibaf told Aljazeera that “we made progress in the Islamabad negotiations, but the gaps are wide and some fundamental points remain.”
Posting on X, former Twitter, Vali Nasr, one of the most prolific commentators on Iran-US relations, mentions Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s tweet regarding a possible understanding in Tehran that US would reciprocate positively by lifting the blockade if Iran declares the Strait of Hormuz open.
“But Trump kept the blockade in place, and through his many tweets, suggested that Iran was surrendering on the nuclear issue,” Nasr wrote, and added: “This has only fed Iran’s suspicions about Trump and that Islamabad like Geneva is a diplomatic ruse before another military attack. The door to diplomacy is not closed, but it has now become considerably more difficult. Deliberately or not, Trump has undermined diplomacy and likelihood of more war.”
Senior sources in the diplomatic and security circles in Islamabad point to “situation getting stickier”. Admitting that Pakistan has scored unprecedented success on multiple diplomatic fronts, they advise caution. “Diplomacy and deployment are taking place simultaneously.” Majority opinion points to US need to “clinch a deal before mid-May” when President Trump is due to visit China. “Iran can be slapped again but Trump can’t afford to be in Beijing and pretend all powerful while bogged down in and around Persian Gulf,” a source said.
While the next 72 hours will decide a lot which way the US-Iran war goes, Islamabad is prepping hard to welcome a mega guest. The roads from Nur Khan Airbase to the Red Zone have received gleaming cat-eyes, blown streetlights bulbs have been replaces, new flowerbeds have been planted. And billboards welcoming the guests are only a few hours away.
