Shashi Tharoor argued Pakistan is acting as a US-aligned ‘diplomatic fig leaf’ in the Iran conflict, likely providing cover for Washington while facilitating talks.
Pakistan, which is projected to have played the role of a mediator between the US and Iran to end the war in West Asia, is in fact serving as a diplomatic “fig leaf”, a cover to help Washington avoid an embarrassing endgame, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, pointing to signals from Islamabad that appeared closely aligned with US messaging.
“Now it seems Pakistan is the fig leaf that the two countries have resorted to,” Tharoor said, aligning with the argument that the real negotiations and decisions may be driven by other parties, with Pakistan providing diplomatic cover.
According to Tharoor, who spoke to India Today on the West Asia crisis, there is “every reason to imagine that Pakistan is kind of a diplomatic fig leaf”.
“Because the prime minister of Pakistan issued a tweet in which he clearly was pasting, cutting and pasting a draft sent from Washington using the same language that President Trump’s communications was using,” he added, backing his argument.
Following the ceasefire announcement on Wednesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif briefly posted a message on X with the heading “Draft – Pakistan’s PM Message on X”, prompting speculation that it may have originated in Washington. Although the label was quickly removed, the wording remained unchanged.
However, Tharoor, who spent three decades at the United Nations, also noted that Pakistan may hold certain advantages in the current context, including a willingness to provide diplomatic cover that allows both the US and Iran to de-escalate without appearing to concede directly to each other.
On India’s role, Tharoor argued that New Delhi must step in, even if mediation efforts are routed through Pakistan. “But even then, it doesn’t matter because, for us, we have a sense of regional responsibility,” he said.
“If Pakistan can play that role in a way that others can’t, why should we resent that?” the Congress MP asked, calling for a “statesmanlike attitude”. He stressed that the war has directly impacted India’s economy and energy security, adding, “Life is not always a zero-sum game.”
