Pakistan's Army Chief Holds Repeated Calls With Iran's FM as Islamabad Walks a Diplomatic Tightrope

Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief, has visited Tehran four times since April 2026 and holds an estimated three to four phone calls with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi over the preceding week to ten days, an Iranian diplomatic source tells Al Jazeera, as Islamabad tries to balance its Mecca-pact obligations to Saudi Arabia with maintained channels to Iran. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar separately speaks with his Saudi and Turkish counterparts. Asked whether Pakistan is relaying messages to the Houthis through Iran, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan does not deny it, saying Pakistan will "continue to pursue dialogue and diplomacy for peace and stability in the broader region" — a posture analysts describe as Pakistan's preferred "silent diplomacy" role as mediator rather than direct military intervention.