PM Sharif, CDF Munir reach Switzerland for crucial US-Iran peace talks

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir reached Switzerland on Sunday morning to steer critical, technical-level implementation talks between Iran and the United States, following a landmark peace agreement brokered earlier this week.

The high-profile Pakistani delegation departed Islamabad in the early hours of Sunday for Bürgenstock, Switzerland, where delegations from Washington and Tehran are convening to flesh out the parameters of the newly signed “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).”

The diplomatic breakthrough follows months of acute military and economic volatility in the Middle East, characterized by a tightening US naval blockade of Iran and the disruptive closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz shipping lane, which had severely destabilized global energy markets.

“As a follow-up to the signing of Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, technical-level talks will be held in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, on 21 June 2026,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and COAS & CDF Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir will participate in these talks.”

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that representatives from the United States, Iran, and co-mediator Qatar are attending the Swiss negotiations.

Broadcasters reported that Iran’s negotiating team, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Zurich on Saturday.

Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance, who also landed in Switzerland, confirmed that senior US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are already on site evaluating the technical frameworks.

The Bürgenstock meetings mark the first formal, face-to-face operational engagement since US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian finalised the framework deal.

Under the initial terms of the pact, Washington has agreed to lift its economic blockade on Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a structured 60-day negotiation layout.

Diplomatic sources close to the talks told Reuters that an emergency session focused on regional de-escalation, specifically handling the spillover conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, has been added to Sunday’s opening agenda at Iran’s request.

Pakistan, which leveraged its close ties with both Tehran and Washington to host preliminary rounds of backchannel diplomacy in Islamabad, has positioned itself as a primary guarantor of the implementation phase. Officials in Islamabad emphasized that Sharif is expected to hold standalone bilateral meetings with Swiss, Qatari, and American counterparts on the sidelines of the summit to sustain diplomatic momentum.