Ceasefire under strain as Israel presses on in Lebanon
Less than 24 hours after the truce was announced, reports of violations are emerging across the conflict zone
ISLAMABAD (MNTV) — The ink on the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement had barely dried before cracks began to appear.
Less than 24 hours after the truce was announced, reports of Israeli violations of the ceasefire are emerging across the conflict zone, Pakistan’s Prime Minister is appealing for restraint, and Lebanon is bleeding.
Without specifying the nature or source of the breaches, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued an urgent public appeal on Wednesday, warning that violations reported “across the conflict zone undermine the spirit of the peace process.”
His message was directed at all parties without exception.
“I earnestly and sincerely urge all parties to exercise restraint and respect the ceasefire for two weeks, as agreed upon, so that diplomacy can take a lead role towards peaceful settlement of the conflict,” he wrote on X.
The appeal underscored the fragility of a deal that Pakistan spent weeks painstakingly assembling — and the difficulty of holding it together once competing interests begin to pull against it.
Iran points at Israel
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was more direct, telling Pakistan’s army chief General Asim Munir in a phone call that Israel was committing “violations of the ceasefire in Iran and Lebanon.”
In a readout published on Telegram, Araghchi also expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s “effective efforts to end the war and strengthen peace and security in the region” — a sign that Islamabad remains Tehran’s primary diplomatic interlocutor even as the ceasefire wobbles.
Lebanon bears cost
The most immediate and visible crisis is unfolding in Lebanon, where Israeli bombardment continued through Wednesday.
At least 89 people were killed and more than 700 wounded in a single day of strikes across the country, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
The UN Refugee Agency’s Lebanon office painted a grim picture.
“Deaths are mounting. Destruction is massive. Civilians are paying the price. Again,” UNHCR Lebanon wrote on X, noting that strikes hit locations across Beirut and other parts of the country.
This is the fault line that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu drew publicly on Tuesday, declaring that the ceasefire “does not include Lebanon.”
Iran has consistently demanded the opposite — that any agreement must cover its entire network of regional allies, including Hezbollah.
Islamabad holds line
Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary, speaking to Al Jazeera, laid out Islamabad’s position plainly: all parties must honour the agreement, and undermining the peace process serves nobody’s interests.
He warned that the bombing of Lebanon was “creating a negative atmosphere” ahead of talks, and reiterated the broader economic stakes — a closed Strait of Hormuz disrupts global supply chains and hurts everyone.
“Everyone understands that war is not the solution to any problem,” he said.
Formal negotiations are still scheduled to begin in Islamabad on Friday.
But with Lebanon in flames, Iran lodging complaints, and Pakistan urgently calling for calm, the two-week diplomatic window is already narrowing.
The question is no longer just whether a lasting deal can be reached — it is whether the ceasefire itself can survive long enough for talks to begin.
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