WIREDGOV

Pakistan, as mediator between the US and Iran, but with nuclear obligations to Saudi Arabia, will need all its agility to avoid abundant pitfalls.

Pakistan has a long history of nimble opportunistic diplomacy. It facilitated Henry Kissinger’s covert trip to China in 1971 and was quick to exploit the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. More recently it made a huge mistake in supporting the Taliban takeover in Kabul.

Pakistan’s international standing has been transformed since the terrorist attack at Pahalgam in April 2025. At the time the Pakistan Army was widely despised for having locked up the popular former prime minister, Imran Khan, in advance of a flawed election process. Food prices were rising. Economic prospects were dire. Terrorism out of Afghanistan was increasing. Relations with the United States were in the freezer. Joe Biden had eschewed contact with a country which he suspected of having aided the Taliban in its humiliation of the US (and NATO). The new president Trump was in mid bromance with Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi.

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