Pakistan orders work-from-home in Islamabad Red Zone as US-Iran talks loom

The government of Pakistan has ordered all federal ministries and offices in Islamabad’s Red Zone to work from home on Tuesday, ahead of expected talks between the United States and Iran in the capital.

According to an official notification issued by the Cabinet Division on Monday, the directive applies to all ministries, divisions and federal establishments located in the high-security zone.

The government said offices will remain physically closed on April 21, but all officers and secretarial staff must stay within their respective stations and remain available to report to duty at short notice if required.

Officials said the order was issued for wide public awareness through print and electronic media. Copies of the notification were circulated to federal ministers, provincial chief secretaries, the Election Commission, judiciary offices and other key national institutions.

The move comes as Donald Trump said Vice President JD Vance and a U.S. delegation are en route to Islamabad for talks with Iran and are expected to arrive within hours.

“We’re supposed to have the talks,” Trump told The New York Post. “So I would assume at this point nobody’s playing games.”

He also said he would be willing to meet senior Iranian leaders if negotiations produce a breakthrough.

The talks come days before the reported expiration of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire amid heightened regional tensions.

Earlier Monday, Iran said it had no plans to attend a new round of negotiations with the United States.

“We have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said.

He accused Washington of actions inconsistent with diplomacy, citing a U.S. blockade and the seizure of an Iranian cargo ship.

Iran said those actions violated a two-week truce set to end overnight Tuesday. Trump, meanwhile, said Tehran had violated the ceasefire in the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route that Iran has largely shut.

The conflicting claims have raised fresh uncertainty over efforts to prevent renewed conflict after weeks of fighting that disrupted the region and unsettled global markets.

Oil prices rose sharply Monday on fears that hostilities could resume.