Islamabad, Pakistan - April 23, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. People resting at bus station
2. Various of traffic on road
3. SOUNDBITE (Urdu) Shop owner (name not given) (ending with shot 4):
"Whenever oil prices go up, everything else automatically follows suit, such as sugar, cooking oil, flavorings. Ordinary people like us are almost crushed by such cost of living. All I hope for now is that the US-Iran negotiations can proceed smoothly."
4. Various of security personnel on street

Islamabad, Pakistan - April 20, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Various of exterior of Jinnah Convention Centre, posters with words reading "Islamabad Talks", pedestrian, barbed wire

FILE: Tehran, Iran - Jan 21, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda)
6. National flag of Iran

FILE: Tehran, Iran - Jan 30, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda)
7. National flags of Iran

FILE: Washington D.C., USA - Oct 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Various of White House, U.S. national flag

Many people in Pakistan are hoping for the resumption of the U.S.-Iran peace talks as the mediator country has kept making preparations.

A main mediator between Washington and Tehran, Pakistan has placed Islamabad under extraordinary security in anticipation of the much-awaited second round of peace talks.

Thousands of police personnel, elite commandos and rooftop snipers were deployed across Islamabad and neighboring Rawalpindi, while major hotels were requisitioned for the expected delegations.

Despite the extensive preparations, the talks did not proceed, as Iran said the United States had failed to honor its prior commitments, citing maritime blockades, seizure of Iranian vessels and continued U.S. threats as key reasons for refusing to negotiate.

Iran had earlier announced a conditional and temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but the move did not lead to the lifting of U.S. restrictions on Iranian ports.

Tehran subsequently declared that it would resume control over passage through the strategic maritime channel.

Many Pakistanis hope the peace talks could continue and ease the price hike that had already pressured people's daily life.

"Whenever oil prices go up, everything else automatically follows suit, such as sugar, cooking oil, flavorings. Ordinary people like us are almost crushed by such cost of living. All I hope for now is that the US-Iran negotiations can proceed smoothly," said a shop owner in Islamabad.