From Stage to Actor
For much of the modern era, Pakistan has been treated less as an actor than as a stage—an arena on which other powers performed their dramas. During the Cold War, it was Washington’s outpost against Moscow. In the 1980s, it became the theater of the Afghan jihad. After 9/11, it was cast as an indispensable yet mistrusted ally in the “war on terror.”
To be Pakistani in global affairs often meant to be defined by others’ agendas, with Islamabad responding to crises rather than setting the terms of engagement. But the events of the past year suggest a quiet transformation.
A Pact That Signals More Than Friendship
The strategic defense agreement signed last week between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is the clearest marker of change. By committing that an attack on one will be treated as an attack on both, Riyadh and Islamabad have crossed the threshold from rhetoric to structure.
This is not the language of warm communiqués; it is the language of deterrence. It embeds Pakistan within a security framework that stretches from the Gulf into South Asia, and it signals that the old dependency of Pakistan on others’ protection is giving way to reciprocal arrangements of power.
A Wider Diplomatic Mosaic
Seen in isolation, the Saudi pact might appear symbolic. But place it in the wider tableau of Pakistan’s diplomacy, and a deeper pattern emerges.
- China has expanded defense cooperation, from drone transfers to naval drills.
- Iran, long defined by mistrust, has seen bilateral trade with Pakistan rise by nearly 40% in early 2025.
- Russia has agreed to supply oil worth $1.2 billion, helping to ease Pakistan’s chronic energy insecurity.
- Central Asia is negotiating corridors that could make Pakistan its gateway to the Indian Ocean.
- Armenia, ignored for 34 years, has finally been recognized—an act of quiet diplomatic independence.
The Global Stakes
Two implications stand out for the international system.
First, the balance of power in Asia is tilting toward networked security rather than hierarchical blocs. Saudi Arabia’s decision to tie its defense to Pakistan is not simply about bilateral friendship—it reflects a Gulf no longer content to see its security guaranteed only through Washington.
Second, Pakistan’s foreign policy is acquiring the maturity of diversification. Where once it tethered itself to a single patron—first the United States, later China—it now balances between multiple poles. This is the logic of middle powers in a multipolar order: to avoid dependency, cultivate options, and convert vulnerability into leverage.
Realism and the Limits of Ambition
Yet caution is necessary. Pakistan remains economically fragile, politically divided, and institutionally brittle. Strategic ambition can dissolve quickly in the acid of domestic turmoil. Moreover, history reminds us that alignments in this region are volatile: today’s partners can be tomorrow’s rivals.
The promise of becoming a “bridge” has undone many middle powers that mistook geography for destiny. To succeed, Pakistan must pair its new diplomacy with internal reform—building fiscal stability, democratic legitimacy, and civic trust. Without that, strategy risks becoming theater rather than statecraft.
From Channel to Architect
In the 1970s, Henry Kissinger used Pakistan as the secret channel for America’s opening to China. Then, Pakistan was the instrument of another’s grand strategy. Today, it seeks to be the architect of its own.
By balancing ties with Washington, Beijing, Riyadh, Tehran, and Moscow, Islamabad is attempting a subtle act of statecraft: to move from dependency to autonomy, from pawn to player. The shift may be fragile, but it is real.
Why the World Should Watch
In a fractured international order, middle powers are the new swing states of geopolitics. They can open trade corridors, anchor security frameworks, or tip balances between rival blocs. Pakistan’s recent moves suggest it is striving to join their ranks—not as a spoiler, not as a supplicant, but as a stakeholder.
For too long, the world has seen Pakistan only through the lens of crisis. It may now be time to see it as part of the solution: a state attempting, however imperfectly, to craft a more balanced role for itself in a multipolar age.
The world would be wise to pay attention.
References:
Ahmad, Raja Qaiser. “پاکستان عالمی سیاست کا فعال کھلاڑی بن چکا” [Pakistan has become an active player in global politics]. Independent Urdu. September 20, 2025. Available at: https://www.independenturdu.com/node/182191
