Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. SCREENGRAB
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday stressed that the US and Iran should continue to uphold their commitment to the ceasefire as talks ended without an agreement.
“It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to the ceasefire,” said Dar during a presser as US Vice President Vance departed this morning after announcing the conclusion of talks without any result.
Dar expressed deep gratitude to Iran and the US for responding to the call made by Prime Minister Shehbaz for an immediate ceasefire in the region and accepting the invitation to hold peace talks in Islamabad.
He further expressed gratitude to the two sides for appreciating Pakistan’s efforts to help achieve the ceasefire and its mediatory role.
Dar said, “I, along with the Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, helped mediate several rounds of intense and constructive negotiations between the two sides, which continued through the last 24 hours and ended this morning.”
He said that Pakistan hope that the two sides continue with a positive spirit to achieve durable peace and prosperity for the entire region and beyond.
“Pakistan has been and will continue to play its role to facilitate engagement and dialogue between Iran and the US in the days to come,” he added.
Earlier, US Vice President JD Vance left Pakistan after announcing that intensive discussions with Iran failed to reach an agreement, yet he appreciated Pakistan’s efforts.
“We have been at it now for 21 hours, and we’ve had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America,” he said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.
Vance also appreciated PM Shehbaz and CDF Field Marshal Munir, saying, “Both incredible hosts, and whatever shortcomings of the negotiation, it wasn’t because of the Pakistanis who did an amazing job and really tried to help us and the Iranians bridge the gap and get to a deal.”
He stated that the simple fact was that there needed to be a clear, affirmative commitment that they would not pursue a nuclear weapon, nor seek the tools that would enable them to quickly develop one.
“That is the core goal of the president of the United States, and that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations. Again, their nuclear programs, such as it is, the enrichment facilities that they’ve – that they had before, they’ve been destroyed,” he added.
The US vice president stated that they had made their red lines clear, specifying what they were willing to accommodate and what they were not. “We’ve made that as clear as we possibly could, and they have chosen not to accept our terms.”
Vance further said that he had spoken with President Trump as many as a dozen times during the talks. “We were talking to the president consistently. I don’t know how many times we talked to him – a half dozen times, a dozen times over the past 21 hours. We obviously also talked to Admiral Cooper, to Pete, to Marco, to the entire national security team. We talked to Scott Bissett a number of times,” he said.
Vice President JD Vance gives an update in Pakistan:
“The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon.” pic.twitter.com/il4THN5DwV
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 12, 2026
He said that they were constantly in communication with the team as they were negotiating in good faith, saying, “We leave here, and we leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer.”
Earlier on Wednesday, PM Shehbaz announced that Iran and the United States, along with their allies, had agreed to an immediate ceasefire “everywhere, including Lebanon,” effective immediately. The prime minister invited delegations from both nations to Islamabad to negotiate a conclusive settlement.
A day earlier, US and Iranian delegations arrived in Pakistan for a conclusive agreement. PM Shehbaz held a meeting with the delegations and affirmed Pakistan’s sincere resolve to continue its mediatory role.
The Iranian delegation was led by Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf and assisted by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, while the US delegation was led by VP JD Vance, along with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
The US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on February 28, killing thousands of people in Iran, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and leaving tens of thousands injured, with civilian areas, including residential buildings and religious sites, among those hit.
The conflict also expanded geographically. Iran retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets. It also restricted the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
To ease tensions, Pakistan had also hosted a quadrilateral foreign ministers’ meeting in Islamabad, with representatives from Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. The meeting grabbed the world’s attention and was widely appreciated for Pakistan’s efforts.
Pakistan and China also jointly proposed a five-point initiative aimed at restoring peace and stability in the Gulf and the broader Middle East.
