Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday thanked US President Donald Trump for extending the ceasefire with Iran, after Washington said the move was made at Pakistan’s request amid stalled diplomatic efforts.
Sharif, in a post on X, said: “On my personal behalf and on behalf of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, I sincerely thank President Trump for graciously accepting our request to extend the ceasefire to allow ongoing diplomatic efforts to take their course.”
He added that Pakistan would continue its efforts for a negotiated settlement of the conflict and expressed hope that both sides would respect the truce and move towards a “comprehensive ‘Peace Deal’” during a proposed second round of talks in Islamabad.
US President Donald Trump had earlier confirmed that the extension of the ceasefire was made following a request from Pakistan’s leadership. He said he had agreed to prolong the truce while awaiting a “unified proposal” from Tehran, and until discussions were concluded “one way or the other.”
Trump also said the US military would maintain a blockade of Iranian ports and remain on standby during the extended ceasefire period.
The White House, earlier had said in a statement following Trump’s announcement to extend the truce that Vice President JD Vance and the US negotiating delegation would not be travelling to Pakistan on Tuesday for the next round of talks. The White House did not provide details on whether in-person negotiations would be rescheduled.
The ceasefire extension comes as diplomatic efforts to restart US-Iran talks remain uncertain. The two-week truce was set to expire on Wednesday, with both sides previously indicating they were prepared to resume hostilities if no agreement was reached.
Iran has not yet confirmed participation in the proposed negotiations in Pakistan. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tehran would only join talks if it believed they would produce results.
Pakistan had been preparing to host the second round of negotiations and had deployed more than 10,000 security personnel in anticipation of the talks, which were originally expected later this week.
Earlier, the first round of US-Iran talks held on April 11–12 failed to produce a breakthrough, prompting Pakistan to intensify diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation.
The wider conflict, has resulted in heavy casualties across the region, including thousands of deaths in Iran and Lebanon, as well as fatalities in Israel, Gulf Arab states, and among US and Israeli personnel deployed in the region.
(With inputs from AP, AFP and PTI)