BURGEN STOCK: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir held a bilateral meeting with the US negotiating team, led by Vice President JD Vance, ahead of the much-anticipated talks at Switzerland’s Burgen stock resort on Sunday, state broadcaster PTV reported.
Delegations from the United States, Iran, Qatar and Pakistan reached the venue earlier in the day for “technical-level” discussions aimed at finalising details of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Tehran and Washington to halt hostilities and establish a framework to end the war.
Under the agreement, the US and Iran have agreed on a framework to end the conflict, lift the US blockade on Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The talks between the two sides are expected to begin shortly, according to the Swiss Foreign Ministry, as delegations from the US, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar arrived at the venue.
A senior official from the Prime Minister’s Office told that a delegation-level meeting involving the four countries was expected to take place at 4pm PKT, where the heads of delegations were likely to address the gathering. The official added that it remained unclear whether the Pakistani delegation would return on the same day.
PTV, reporting live from Burgenstock, said technical discussions between the US and Iranian delegations could continue until tomorrow. The broadcaster said no formal timeline had been announced and talks would proceed for “as long as necessary”.
However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told IRNA that a one-day session was planned. He said the schedule included bilateral meetings with mediators Pakistan and Qatar in the morning, followed by quadrilateral discussions in the afternoon.
The Foreign Office (FO) said Pakistan would hold bilateral engagements with the participating delegations from Iran, Qatar, Switzerland and the US to “reaffirm Pakistan’s enduring commitment to dialogue and durable peace in the region”.
Pakistani delegation arrives
The Prime Minister’s Office said PM Shehbaz Sharif and his delegation arrived in Zurich earlier on Sunday morning to participate in the talks. The delegation later travelled to Burgenstock, where the negotiations are being held.
PTV reported that the prime minister was accompanied by Information Minister Ataullah Tarar and other senior government officials. State media also confirmed the arrival of CDF Field Marshal Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi at the resort.
US, Iran delegations reach venue
US Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also arrived at Burgenstock for discussions on implementing the agreement.
Vance reached Emmen Air Base at 5:59am local time (8:59am PKT), according to his spokesperson. He had departed for Switzerland on Saturday, saying the discussions would focus on Iran’s nuclear programme and the Lebanon ceasefire.
“I think we’re going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue. Those are the two big things that I think we’re going to be focused on,” Vance told reporters before leaving Joint Base Andrews.
He added that he could only participate in the talks “for a day or two”.
Vance said the situation in Lebanon was “actually getting better”, but stressed that it would require continued efforts to ensure both Israel and Lebanon remained “safe and secure”.
“The big problem is that you have somebody will shoot and then somebody will respond, and you kind of have a chicken and egg problem where you’ve just got to stop the shooting for long enough to get the ceasefire to keep hold,” he said.
US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were already in Switzerland to handle the technical aspects of the discussions, Vance said earlier.
Iran’s delegation, which arrived in Switzerland early Sunday, reached Burgenstock by the afternoon.
Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported that the delegation was led by Ghalibaf and included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The Iranian delegation also included Ali Bagheri, deputy for international affairs at the Supreme National Security Council Secretariat; Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati; National Iranian Oil Company CEO Hamid Bovard; Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi; and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei.