Altaf Hamid Rao
MIRPUR ( AJK),(Parliament Times):While welcoming the ceasefire in the the Middle East, particularly as it reduces the risk of wider regional escalation and highlights Pakistan’s continued relevance as a diplomatic facilitator, Turkey-based veteran IIOJK – Kashmiri leader in exile Dr. Mubeen Shah said that however, the hault of arned conflict for a couple of weeks, must be viewed with strategic realism.
Istanbul-based Supremo of Kashmir Diaspora Coalition and exiled Ex President of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry Srinagar, Dr. Mubeen Shah said in a telephonic interview to this AJK Correspondent on Wednesday that United States appears to have used the ceasefire as an exit from a costly and escalating confrontation, shaped not only by battlefield dynamics but also by domestic political pressures. At the same time, Iran, by maintaining strategic consistency, seems to have negotiated from a position of resilience—compelling movement toward talks on its own terms, he added.
“As a Kashmiri, this moment inevitably recalls the aftermath of the Pahalgam crisis, when a fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan created a rare diplomatic opening. Even Donald Trump signaled willingness for talks in a neutral venue. Yet that moment was not institutionalized and ultimately faded without progress on Kashmir”, Dr Shah observed adding “this underlines a critical lesson”.
Continuing, Dr Shah said “ceasefires alone do not lead to conflict resolution.Openings must be institutionalized quickly before they close. And in other words International attention must be sustained, not allowed to dissipate after crises”, he observed.
The veteran Kashmiri business community stalwart from occupied Sringar said “in other words, the challenge is not creating a moment—it is preventing that moment from disappearing. Unfortunately, this is where Pakistan has historically fallen short.
Lauding Pakistan’s excellent foreign police To its credit, Pakistan has repeatedly demonstrated its value as a facilitator—from enabling the 1971 US-China rapprochement to supporting the Doha Agreement. The current role in the Middle East is therefore commendable, Dr Shah said while responding to a question.
The real test, however, lies ahead: whether Pakistan can move beyond facilitation and help shape a sustained political process that leads to durable peace. If it can, this moment could become a modelnot just for the Middle East—but for South Asia as well, he maintained.
Dr Nubenn Sha recalled that during the 2025 India–Pakistan conflict, Marco Rubio stated that both India and Pakistan had agreed not only to a ceasefire but also to begin talks at a neutral venue. Yet, this proposed pathway was never institutionalized. It was contested, diluted, and ultimately disappeared—once again demonstrating that ceasefires create moments, but without sustained political follow-through, those moments fade.