US President Donald Trump (File photo)
US President Donald Trump on Saturday cancelled a planned trip to Pakistan by his envoys, who were supposed to meet Iranian leaders in Islamabad and hold peace talks with Tehran. He also criticised Iran’s leadership, saying that “nobody knows who is in charge”.After calling off the visit to Islamabad, Trump said the trip would have taken up too much time. He described it as “too much time wasted on travelling”.Posting on Truth Social, Trump said, “I just cancelled the trip of my representatives going is Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with the Iranians. Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their “leadership.” Nobody knows who is in charge, including them.”He also claimed that the US has the upper hand and again pushed for talks with Iran, saying, “Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”Top US diplomats, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, cancelled their travel plans following boss Trump’s orders.Trump’s announcement came soon after an Iranian delegation led by foreign minister Abbas Araghchi left Islamabad on Saturday evening after holding meetings with Pakistani leaders. This development has weakened Pakistan’s hopes of playing a role in arranging talks between the US and Iran.Araghchi said, “yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy”.According to Al Jazeera, the Iranian delegation left after giving an “official list of demands” to Pakistani leaders for the US and Israel to help reach a broader solution in the Middle East.With the delegation now planning visits to Oman and Russia, Pakistan’s chances of hosting further talks appear uncertain.
