ISLAMABAD, April 11, 2026 (BSS/AFP) – Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Friday that leaders of both Iran and the United States will attend ceasefire talks in Islamabad next week, cautioning that progress will require “hard work.”  

“In response to my sincere invitation, the leaderships of both countries are coming to Islamabad. There, negotiations will be held for the establishment of peace,” Sharif said in a televised address.  

While U.S. Vice President JD Vance was en route to Pakistan, uncertainty lingered over Iran’s participation after Tehran demanded that the two-week ceasefire also apply to Lebanon, where Israel continues bombing Hezbollah. Iran also called for the unfreezing of assets blocked abroad under U.S. sanctions.  

Sharif struck a hopeful tone, thanking both sides for agreeing to meet, but warned of challenges ahead. “A temporary ceasefire has been announced, but now an even more difficult stage lies ahead: the stage of achieving a lasting ceasefire, of resolving complicated issues through negotiations. This is that stage which, in English, is called the equivalent of ‘make or break’,” he said.  

He pledged Pakistan would “make every possible effort to make these talks successful.”  

On the domestic front, Sharif announced a more than 25 percent cut in diesel prices, from 520 to 385 rupees per litre, alongside slight reductions in petrol and kerosene. The move comes just over a week after Pakistan hiked fuel prices in response to global energy spikes caused by the Iran war.  

END/WD/RH