Pak PM Sharif, Army chief Munir meet top negotiators from US, Iran in Switzerland

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday met US Vice President JD Vance, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and other top negotiators from both sides in Switzerland on the sidelines of the technical-level talks aimed at restoring peace in West Asia.

Sharif reached Switzerland earlier in the day, accompanied by Army chief Asim Munir and a delegation.

He first met Vance and US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

While Vance landed in Switzerland earlier in the day, Witkoff and Kushner were already there.

Sharif’s office shared a video clip on X in which the Prime Minister and the Army chief could be seen shaking hands with all three US negotiators.

Sharif, along with Munir, later met Ghalibaf and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi separately, his office said in a statement, adding that it was “a follow-up of (the) Islamabad MoU being held in Burgenstock, Switzerland”.

The Prime Minister’s office also shared a video on X in which he and Munir could be seen shaking hands with the two top Iranian leaders.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who landed in Iran unannounced on Saturday, is learnt to have met President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister met senior leaders from Egypt, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia in Cairo to review progress on the peace negotiations.

US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which marked the beginning of a 60-day negotiation window for restoring peace in West Asia.

The technical aspects of the negotiations under the MoU’s framework were supposed to begin on Friday, but were delayed, primarily due to fresh rounds of firing between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The talks started on Sunday with top officials from the US and Iran, and mediators Pakistan and Qatar, gathering in the Swiss mountain resort of Burgenstock.