Pakistan is playing peacemaker in one war while fighting another

Pakistan has emerged as an unlikely mediator in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran even as it engages in its most severe fighting in decades with neighboring Afghanistan.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistan is working feverishly to end a war in one country on its border, even as it has declared “open war” on another.

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The South Asian nation has emerged as an unlikely mediator in global efforts to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. But it is also engaged in its most severe fighting in decades with neighboring Afghanistan, a conflict that has been largely overshadowed by the war in the Middle East.

Pakistan has offered its capital, Islamabad, as a potential meeting site for U.S. and Iranian negotiators, with President Donald Trump saying “great progress” is being made toward talks and Tehran denying there are talks happening at all. Trump, who is set to address the nation Wednesday night, also told NBC News on Tuesday that Iran does not have to make a deal for the conflict to end.