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www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know 9 DIASPORA March 27, 2026 Pakistan Willing To Host Peace Talks To End US-Israeli War On Iran P akistan’s prime minister said on Tuesday he was willing to host talks between the U.S. and Iran on ending the war in the Gulf, a day after President Donald Trump postponed threats to bomb Iranian power plants, say- ing there had been “productive” talks.US Election Coverage In a post on X, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan welcomed and fully supported ongoing efforts to pursue dia- logue to end the war. “Subject to concurrence by the U.S. and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement,” he said. The U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 after saying they had failed to make enough headway in talks aimed at ending Iran’s nuclear program, although mediator Oman said significant progress had been made. Since then, Iran has attacked countries that host U.S. bases, struck Gulf energy infrastructure and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, creating the worst energy supply shock in history. A Pakistani government source said discussions on a meeting were at an advanced stage and if it did happen, “a big ‘if’”, it would take place within a week. The war is already taking a toll on major economies around the world, according to business surveys on Tuesday which showed how a surge in energy prices and rising uncertainty were dampening activ- ity and pushing inflation expectations higher.India Politics Coverage IRAN DENIES TALKS HAVE TAKEN PLACE On the ground, there were no signs of conflict abating in the Gulf or Lebanon, where Israel is carrying out a parallel operation against the militant group Hez- bollah, which has fired at Israel in support of its patron Iran. An Iranian missile was intercepted over Lebanese airspace for the first time on Tuesday, three senior Lebanese security sources said, with two of them saying a foreign naval vessel was responsible for the interception. Trump said on Monday the U.S. and Iran had held “very good and productive” conversations about a “complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East” and that he was postponing for five days a plan to hit Iran’s energy grid. He said talks had begun on Sunday and continued into Monday, with Special En- voy SteveWitkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner involved. But after Trump’s Truth Social comment on Monday, Iran denied that any talks had been held. -Reuters PHOTO:REUTERS/TOMER APPELBAUM Fire engulfs a car at a site following Iranian missile barrages in central Israel, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 24, 2026. By Ariba Shahid, Rami Ayyub and Alexander Cornwell “Threats From Iran Would Undermine Lives Of 10 Million Indians In Gulf”: Israeli Envoy Reuven Azar H ighlighting the strategic depth of the ongoing bilateral dialogue, Ambassador of Israel to India, Reuven Azar, has underscored that both na- tions are maintaining high-level communication regarding the current regional operations. Azar noted that Israel remains committed to ensuring India is fully briefed on the security dynamics shifting across West Asia. In an interview with ANI, Ambassador Azar detailed the frequency of these diplomatic exchanges. “We have been having conversations at the top level, both of our Prime Minister and our Minister of Foreign Affairs. They have been updating the Indian government on the aims of this operation and about the situation of the operation. I’m sure that India is doing whatever it needs in order to meet its own interests,” he stated. The Ambassador pointed out that the neutralisation of specific regional threats is a prerequisite for safeguarding the millions of Indian expatriates contributing to the Gulf economy. “But the bottom line from our perspective is that once we have achieved the removal of these terrible threats that were looming overWest Asia from Iran, a radical Islamic theocratic country that was pursuing a nuclear arsenal and also building thousands of ballistic missiles and hundreds of thousands of drones, that plan would undermine the stability of the region and would under- mine the lives of 10 million Indians that are living in the Gulf region,” Azar remarked. Beyond immediate safety concerns, the envoy linked the success of these operations to the viability of long- term economic visions, such as the India-Middle East- Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which aims to turn the region into a global investment hub. He explained, “More importantly, they would under- mine the great plans that we all have together with India to makeWest Asia an area that is attractive for invest- ment, that is stable, and that can actually engage in projects of connectivity, especially since India has signed so many trade agreements that are going to increase the number of transactions and of merchandise that is going to move east and west. I think that there’s a lot to gain from the change in conduct of this regime.” Addressing the feasibility of the IMEC specifically, Azar was candid about the necessity of a stable security environment before such grand connectivity projects can fully materialise. “Any economic project has to lie on very solid security foundations and political foundations. Once we are able to solve this situation in which the area is so threatened by a radical regime, we will have consolidated the secu- rity regime that we need in order to have a solid security foundation. Then it will be much easier to get into politi- cal agreement, and then the economic dimension will come very fast,” the Ambassador stated. Azar further warned that economic progress cannot exist in a vacuum while “disruptive forces” remain active, emphasising that investor confidence is directly tied to regional peace. “We cannot fantasise that in an area that is constantly threatened by disruptive and malign forces like the Iranian regime that is invading other Arab countries and is trying to destroy a country in the region like Israel, that under those circumstances, we will be able to do economic projects, because investors will not come to a region that is threatened in such a way,” he added. -ANI PHOTO:ANI Reuven Azar By Ayushi Agarwal SOUTH ASIA