Islamabad Peace Talks: Ahsan highlights importance of dialogue to avert wider conflict

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Apr, 2026) Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday said that Pakistan was honoured to host the Islamabad Peace Talks, highlighting the importance of dialogue, restraint and wisdom to avert a wider conflict with global repercussions.

In a post on X, he said that Pakistan was committed to playing its part in bringing the warring sides from the battlefield to the negotiating table, while acknowledging the constructive role of key international stakeholders.

“Pakistan is honoured to host the Islamabad Peace Talks and to play its part in bringing the warring sides from the battlefield to the negotiating table,” the minister wrote.

He paid tribute to the leadership of Pakistan, Iran and the United States, as well as other brotherly countries, for their engagement in creating an opportunity for peace. “Our effort has been guided by a simple conviction: that mistrust must yield to dialogue, restraint must prevail over escalation, and wisdom must triumph over the impulse for war,” he added.

Highlighting the far-reaching consequences of continued hostilities, Ahsan Iqbal warned that prolonged conflict would have catastrophic implications not only for the region but also for the global community.

"This crisis is no longer a regional matter,” he said, adding that its economic aftershocks were already being felt worldwide through rising inflation, disrupted energy supplies, volatile markets and growing uncertainty.

He cautioned that if the conflict persisted, millions more people could be pushed into poverty, with the burden extending beyond the combatants to ordinary citizens across the globe. “The burden of failure will not fall on the combatants alone; it will be borne by ordinary men, women and children across the world through insecurity, inflation and instability,” he added.

Expressing hope for a positive outcome, the minister said the success of the talks would be crucial not only for regional peace but also for global economic security.

“In the end, history will not remember who sounded the toughest; it will remember those who showed the wisdom and statesmanship to prevent a wider war,” he remarked.