Shehbaz Sharif meets JD Vance, Iran leaders at Swiss West Asia peace talks

Shehbaz Sharif met US and Iranian leaders in Switzerland alongside technical peace talks. The engagement under the Islamabad MoU signals Pakistan's active mediating role amid regional tensions.

In Short

• Talks started Sunday under a 60-day window set by last week's MoU
• Fresh Israel-Hezbollah firing delayed the technical negotiations that were due Friday
• Army chief Asim Munir accompanied Sharif during his diplomatic engagements in Switzerland

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday met US Vice President JD Vance, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and other senior negotiators in Switzerland on the sidelines of technical-level talks aimed at restoring peace in West Asia.

The meetings came as officials from the US and Iran, along with mediators Pakistan and Qatar, gathered at the Swiss mountain resort of Burgenstock for talks under a 60-day negotiation window set by a Memorandum of Understanding signed last week by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Sharif arrived in Switzerland earlier in the day with Army chief Asim Munir and a delegation. He first met Vance and US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. While Vance reached Switzerland earlier on Sunday, Witkoff and Kushner were already there. Sharif's office shared a video clip on X showing the prime minister and Munir shaking hands with all three US negotiators.

Later, Sharif and Munir separately met Ghalibaf and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to a statement from the prime minister's office. The statement said it was "a follow-up of (the) Islamabad MoU being held in Burgenstock, Switzerland". The Prime Minister's Office also posted a video on X showing Sharif and Munir greeting the two Iranian leaders.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who arrived in Iran unannounced on Saturday, is learnt to have met President Pezeshkian in Tehran. In Cairo, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister met senior leaders from Egypt, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia to review progress in the peace negotiations.

The technical talks under the MoU framework were meant to begin on Friday, but were delayed mainly because of fresh rounds of firing between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. The talks began on Sunday as senior officials from the US and Iran, along with Pakistani and Qatari mediators, met in Burgenstock, with Sharif holding separate meetings with key American and Iranian leaders on the sidelines.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends