Pakistan army chief Asim Munir emerges as key US negotiator in Iran talks

As Pakistan’s military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, has emerged as a key mediator in talks related to Iran’s escalating crisis, Washington has once again found itself relying on a country that US officials have spent decades accusing of playing both sides in the war on terror.

Munir has emerged as a key mediator in negotiations aimed at preventing a renewed conflict with Iran, putting Pakistan – despite decades of allegations involving Taliban safe havens, nuclear proliferation and Osama bin Laden – back at the center of US diplomacy in the Middle East.

The latest talks have also exposed another major conflict in US foreign policy: Washington has been turning to Pakistan even after years of tension, mistrust and suspicion that parts of the country’s security establishment are supporting militant groups fighting US forces.

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The renewal of Pakistan’s national role has come under intense scrutiny – and exposed divisions among Republicans – after allegations that Iranian military aircraft may have been sent to Pakistani territory during recent clashes, Islamabad has denied.

“I don’t trust Pakistan as much as I can throw at them,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., May 12. “If they really have Iranian planes parked at bases in Pakistan to protect Iranian military assets, that tells me that maybe we should look for someone else to mediate.”

Trump however publicly praised Pakistan’s leadership on the same day.

“They were very good,” Trump told reporters on May 12. “I think the Pakistanis were very good. The field marshal and the prime minister of Pakistan were very good.”

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir have been helpful mediators, and the United States appreciates Pakistan’s efforts to end the conflict. When the Iranian nuclear threat is removed once and for all, the entire world will be safer and more stable,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Where Pakistan burned the US

Pakistan has long occupied an unpopular position in American foreign policy.

The nuclear-armed country borders Iran and Afghanistan, maintains deep ties across the region’s security landscape and has historically been viewed by U.S. officials as too important to be completely isolated.

Even critics who accuse Pakistan of double-dealing agree that Washington has struggled to distance itself from Islamabad because of the country’s nuclear weapons, geography and influence over regional military networks.

But mistrust between Washington and Islamabad deepened after US forces killed Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011 – a military town close to the country’s Prime Minister’s military academy.

“The fact that we had to do that operation without Pakistan’s support speaks volumes about how much we trusted them,” Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of the Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital.

Critics and US officials have long wondered whether Pakistan’s intelligence services were unaware of bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad, although Pakistan has repeatedly denied harboring him on purpose.

Analysts say Pakistan’s military has also spent years viewing Afghanistan through the lens of its rivalry with India, seeing a Taliban-friendly government in Kabul as a way to counter Indian influence in the region.

“They look at Afghanistan as a strategic depth,” Roggio said.

Vice President JD Vance walks with Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, US Ambassador Natalie A. Baker, and Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi after arriving for talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 20, 261. (Jacquelyn Martin/Reuters)

Analysts say Pakistan’s security establishment has historically distinguished between militant groups that target Pakistan itself and groups that are seen as useful compared to India or Afghanistan – a tactic critics say has led Islamabad to tolerate or maintain ties with other groups linked to the Taliban and opposed to India despite its post-9/11 US counter-terrorism cooperation.

Pakistani officials have also argued that the country paid a heavy price for aligning with Washington after 9/11, pointing to years of suicide bombings, insurgent attacks and instability within Pakistan itself.

Pakistan’s Defense Minister recently admitted that the country has done “dirty work” for the US and the West during decades of regional conflicts, conflicting policies associated with the anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan and the post-9/11 era that ended up doing Pakistan itself.

Roggio said Pakistan’s security establishment has spent years publicly cooperating with Washington while at the same time tolerating or supporting Taliban-linked groups fighting US forces in Afghanistan.

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“Pakistan supports the Taliban knowing that they are killing Americans,” he said.

Pakistan’s recent diplomatic role has come under renewed scrutiny after allegations that Iranian military jets may have been moved into Pakistani territory during the latest conflict – claims Islamabad has denied.

Pakistan’s nuclear history has caused concern in Washington for decades. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the architect of Pakistan’s nuclear program, later admitted that they operated a proliferation network that transferred nuclear technology and expertise to countries including Iran, Libya and North Korea.

Counterterrorism analysts and former US officials have long warned that al Qaeda operatives and their affiliates continue to find shelter in parts of Pakistan’s tribal regions even after the 9/11 attacks, although the extent of those networks is still being debated.

Pakistani officials have long denied supporting terrorist organizations and say the country itself has been hit hard by Islamist violence, including attacks by ISIS-K and the Pakistani Taliban. Islamabad has also denied allegations that Iranian military aircraft have been sheltered inside Pakistan during recent clashes.

Why Trump is betting on Pakistan again

More than a decade after bin Laden’s raid destroyed trust between Washington and Islamabad, Pakistan’s military leadership has re-emerged as Washington’s critical channel – this time amid a growing crisis involving Iran.

Trump has increasingly aligned himself with Munir in recent weeks, reinforcing long-standing views that Pakistan’s military — not its government — remains the country’s leading powerhouse.

Munir, a former intelligence officer, has used Pakistan’s long-standing ties across the region to position himself as a conduit between Washington and Tehran.

Roggio said that Pakistan is also trying to revive its international image by presenting itself as a stable power in the region.

“They are trying to portray the image that they are the guardian of peace in the region,” he said.

Previous rounds of diplomacy related to the Iran conflict were also hosted in Islamabad, highlighting Pakistan’s role as a regional mediator.

Pakistan and Qatar appear to have emerged as complementary communication channels rather than competitors during recent negotiations involving Iran.

Analysts say the military leadership in Pakistan has been seen as a political and security mediator between Washington and Tehran, while Qatar remains in the middle of legal and financial negotiations for the region.

This is a geographical map of Pakistan with its capital, Islamabad, and the state of Kashmir.

Qatar, which hosted talks between the US and the Taliban that led to the 2020 Doha agreement that laid out the framework for the eventual US withdrawal from Afghanistan, has re-emerged as a diplomatic hub as talks intensified over the weekend.

Pakistan also played a background role in those talks, reflecting Washington’s long-standing reliance on Islamabad’s relationship with the Taliban leadership during the war in Afghanistan.

Critics of the Doha deal say it sidelines the US-backed Afghan government while strengthening the Taliban ahead of a return to power in 2021.

Pakistan’s relationship with the Taliban has also been strained since the group returned to power in Afghanistan. Pakistani officials have accused Taliban authorities of failing to stop terrorists attacking Pakistan across the border, and Islamabad has threatened to take military action against other groups operating near Afghan territory.

The split between Pakistan reflects a broader debate that has shaped US foreign policy for decades: whether Washington’s strategic need for Islamabad outweighs long-standing concerns about the country’s relationship with militant groups and regional adversaries.

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More than a decade after bin Laden’s raid destroyed trust between Washington and Islamabad, Pakistan has once again become a diplomatic hub the US seems unable – or unwilling – to avoid amid one of the region’s most volatile crises.