Pakistan’s balancing act in the Gulf is getting harder 

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Pakistan has emerged as a critical regional stakeholder since the conflict between the United States and Iran began in late February. Its role in mediating between the two has raised the country’s global profile. Pakistan is also an active player in regional security through its mutual defense agreement with Saudi Arabia. As the conflict drags on, this multi-faceted engagement is turning into a tightrope act. 

Pakistan’s ties with the Arab Gulf states go back decades, and they are underwritten by an estimated four to five million Pakistanis living in the region. In the last fiscal year those workers sent home an estimated $22 billion, more than half of the record $41.6 billion Pakistan received in remittances from around the world. Saudi Arabia, which hosts the largest Pakistani population in the Gulf, was also the single largest source of inflows at $9.78 billion, followed by the UAE at $8.81 billion. The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain together account for roughly $12 billion of the annual total. 

The Gulf states are important trade markets as........

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