US, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar…: Who played what role in India-Pakistan ceasefire?

India-Pakistan ceasefire: In a major development, a US ‘mediated’ India-Pakistan ceasefire was announced on late Saturday evening, rekindling hopes of ending the recent surge in hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbors which escalated after India conducted missile strikes on terror structures inside Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to last month’s ghastly Pahalgam terror attack.

However, despite US President Donald Trump hogging the credit for mediating the ceasefire agreement, there were other countries who also played a vital role in cooling down tensions between the two sides over the past few days. Lets a brief look at who played what role in resolving the crisis and brokering the India-Pakistan ceasefire.

United States played the biggest role

The United States arguably played the biggest role in the India-Pakistan ceasefire. It was Donald Trump who first made ceasefire public in a post on his Truth Social platform, announcing “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE. Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!.”

Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio said ‘ in the last 48 hours Vice President JD Vance and I have engaged with senior Indian and Pakistani officials, including Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, and National Security Advisors Ajit Doval and Asim Malik.”

Foreign policy experts believe that US pressured Pakistan into accepting the ceasefire on India’s terms.

Iran offers mediation

Iran, which is among the few nations having friendly ties with both Pakistan and India, stepped in as soon as India-Pakistan tensions began to escalate after April 22 terror attack in Pakistan. Following the dastardly attack, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a telephone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the barbaric incident and stressed the need for putting up a united front against terrorism.

On the same day, Pezeshkian also dialed Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, talked about the Pahalgam attack, and expressed deep concern over the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.

Later, Iran’s Foreign Minister Saeed Abbas Araghchi visited both Pakistan and India, to push for peace. During his visit to India for a a review meeting of bilateral cooperation on the 75th anniversary of the India-Iran Friendship Treaty, Araghchi put forth Iran’s offer to mediate between the two bitter enemies, but was bluntly refused by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, saying any attack on India will be met with a befitting reply.

Saudi Arabian FM visits India, Pakistan after Operation Sindoor

Hours after Operation Sindoor, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir arrived in India and met External Affair Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi, before heading to Pakistan.

The Saudi Foreign Minister’s impromptu visit was seen by many as an effort by Riyadh to broke some kind of ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.

Earlier, in a statement, Riyadh had appealed both countries to work towards establishing peace and ending hostilities. Notably, Saudi Arabia has strong economic and diplomatic ties with India, while also being one of Pakistan’s biggest lenders, who has often bailed out the cash-strapped nation.

UAE and Qatar appealed for peace

Apart from Iran and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, both of which have cordial ties with India, had vehemently appealed for peace amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.

UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan had called upon New Delhi and Islamabad to establish a diplomatic dialogue to arrive at a peaceful solution, while urging both countries to exercise restraint amid heightened tensions.

In a similar vein, Qatar had also made a vehement appeal for peace to both countries.

Pakistan violates ‘bilateral understanding’

Meanwhile, barely hours after the ceasefire was announced, Pakistan reportedly launched suspected drone attacks in Jammu and Srinagar, prompting authorities to enforce a complete blackout and activate air defense systems.

In a late night press briefing, the Ministry of External Affairs said Pakistan had violated the ‘bilateral’ understanding’ reached on Saturday afternoon to immediately halt all firings and military actions on land, air and sea.

“An understanding was reached this evening between the DGMOs of India and Pakistan to stop the military action that was going on for the last few days. For the last few hours, this understanding is being violated by Pakistan. The Indian Army is retaliating and dealing with this border intrusion. This intrusion is extremely condemnable and Pakistan is responsible for it. We believe that Pakistan should understand this situation properly and take appropriate action immediately to stop this intrusion,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told reporters at a press briefing on late Saturday night.

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