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<\/p>\nRabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za<\/p>\n
20 April 2026<\/p>\n
1-minute read<\/p>\n
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Pakistan\u2019s field marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif concluded separate diplomatic visits aimed at ending the Israel\/US and Iran conflict.<\/p>\n
Marium Kamal, political analyst and assistant professor at the Centre for South Asian Studies University of Punjab, Lahore, noted that Munir attended three days of talks in Iran, while Prime Minister Sharif wrapped up talks in Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. However, despite their return to Pakistan alongside the US delegate for peace talks currently being held in Islamabad, she emphasized that \u201cthings are not clear yet,\u201d on how to manage the conflict. With the talks being \u201ckept secret,\u201d it is very difficult to measure the outcome.<\/p>\n
On determining Pakistan\u2019s role in the conflict, Marium stated that \u201cthere is a huge shift at the global level\u201d. Since 1992, India has been attempting to declare Pakistan a terrorist state, but after this mediation, Pakistan, despite being hailed as politically instable, has \u201cemerged as a global mediator,\u201d cementing its geopolitical relationship with both Washington and Iran.<\/p>\n
Kamal mentioned that democracy is not something \u201cindigenous\u201d to South Asia or the Islamic world, with nomination rather than succession being the basis for new leadership. \u201cDemocracy is the <\/em>phenomenon which needs to be followed,\u201d she said, and while it differs from country to country, in Pakistan it is defined with the military superiority dominating over the civilian aspect. Under the current scenario, \u201cthe establishment and the government are playing parallel\u201d and \u201cvery smartly,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n