How Munir and Co used Trump, China and Iran to script Pakistan’s diplomatic comeback

Apocalypse was averted. A whole civilisation didn’t die. ‘Power plant day’ and ‘bridge day’ came and went. The ‘madman’ strategy of using grotesque rhetoric to signal extreme acts to keep the enemy off balance didn’t work. It required extras doing some play-acting to make it look like it did. A fragile two-week ceasefire emerged on Tuesday Washington time, fragile being the operative word.

It’s not the end of the war, but could be the beginning of the end. The US and Israel have agreed to halt strikes. Iran has agreed to reciprocate and reopen the Strait of Hormuz with conditions. Tehran seems to have set the terms, but interpretations of what’s on the table when the US and Iran meet for negotiations in Islamabad this week are covered in fumes. Trump said Iran’s 10-point plan was a ‘workable’ premise based on his conversations with Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir.