With the first round of Pakistan-brokered negotiations having broken down in Islamabad, a delegation, led by Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir, landed in Tehran on Wednesday. It is a team in a hurry as the US-Iran ceasefire is set to expire on April 22.
But what has surprised many is the presence of the Pakistan Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Major General Kashif Abdullah in the Pakistani delegation, which also includes Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Major General Jawad Tariq, who is the private secretary to Field Marshal Munir. The Pakistani government has been tight-lipped about Abdullah’s presence in the delegation.
And there are reasons.
Among other primary responsibilities, the Pak DGMO is also mandated with the planning, execution, and supervision of all military operations at a strategic and operational level.
What is interesting here is that with the Army having primacy over the Air Force and the Navy in Pakistan, Abdullah’s role is much broader and covers aspects relating to the other two services as well as the strategic dimension.
With Pakistan having deployed about 10,000 soldiers from the 25th Mechanised Division and about 18 fighter aircraft in Saudi Arabia, in pursuance of the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in 2025, there is a need to allay Iran’s fears, concerns and apprehensions about the possible use of these force elements against Iran and its proxies like the Houthis.
And what better than to let the Iranians hear it addressed by none other than the DGMO.
Incidentally, the 25th Mechanised Division specialises in desert warfare and has been deployed to the Saudi Arabia-Yemen border, while the fighter aircraft have been deployed at the King Abdulaziz Air Base in Dhahran.
Incidentally, Munir and his team also visited the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards, where he met with its commander.
With Pakistan having good relations with both Iran and Saudi Arabia, as is evident from the acceptance of its mediation, there is a need to reassure the Iranians also.
But what may be difficult to navigate here is the fact that SMDA mandates that an attack on either Pakistan or Saudi Arabia would be considered an attack on both.
In recent days, Iran had struck targets in Saudi Arabia, including the Jubail petrochemicals complex, leading to speculation whether Saudi Arabia would also retaliate against Iran.