In an extraordinary reversal, Pakistan on Sunday formally condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities—just one day after nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering a ceasefire in last month’s four-day conflict with India.
According to a statement from Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the strikes “violate international law” and risk “severely damaging implications for the region and beyond.” Islamabad urged “all parties” to return to diplomacy as the only viable path to de-escalation, warning that further military action would only compound instability.
“The unprecedented escalation of tension and violence, owing to ongoing aggression against Iran, is deeply disturbing,” the Foreign Ministry said.
“Diplomacy remains the only way to resolve the current crisis.”
The day before, Pakistan had publicly praised Mr. Trump’s mediation between New Delhi and Islamabad—crediting him with exercising “strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship” in ending cross-border hostilities—and announced its intention to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke by telephone with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian to reiterate Pakistan’s condemnation of the airstrikes and express solidarity with Tehran. Demonstrations also erupted in Karachi, where thousands marched under Iranian flags and trampled on U.S. and Israeli emblems in protest.
“Any further escalation of tensions will have severely damaging implications for the region and beyond.”
Pakistan’s shift highlights the tightrope Islamabad walks between its historic ties to the United States and its strategic and religious affinity with Iran. In recent years, both Washington and Tehran have relied on Pakistan as a critical interlocutor, making Islamabad’s positions on Middle Eastern flashpoints especially sensitive.
Analysts say Pakistan’s dual stance reflects pressure from rival domestic constituencies: a military leadership keen to cultivate Washington’s favour, and a public—and powerful clerical establishment—deeply sympathetic to Iran.
“Islamabad will continue to play a balancing act,” said Dr. Nadia Khan, a South Asia specialist at the University of Karachi.
“But the swift condemnation of the strikes signals Pakistan’s readiness to stand with its Islamic neighbours if Western military action crosses certain red lines.”
As regional capitals brace for Tehran’s next move, the prospects for renewed diplomacy now hinge on whether the United States will seek formal negotiations with Iran—and whether Pakistan can leverage its unique relationships to draw both sides back to the table. With tensions at a hair’s breadth from wider conflict, Islamabad’s response underscores its clever standing—and the fragile tightrope walk at the heart of Middle Eastern geopolitics.
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