“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” — Sun Tzu

The metamorphosis is striking.

For decades, Pakistan’s name has been associated with conflict: tensions with neighbours, allegations of sponsoring militancy, entanglement in proxy wars, and a strategic posture shaped by conflicts not entirely of its own making. Its geography has often been described as a burden rather than an advantage.

Yet geography, like history, is not destiny.

Moments of crisis can also become moments of redefinition. They offer a chance to rediscover a role Pakistan has long aspired to: that of a bridge rather than a battleground.

Pakistan’s role in facilitating de-escalation in a dangerous international confrontation that risked wider regional and even global consequences may have been understated, but it was consequential. It should not be treated as a diplomatic footnote. It should be recognised as a template. Acting as a channel of communication between adversaries, Pakistan demonstrated that stability can be advanced not through alignment but through balance.

The imperative now is to build on this role.

The real test of Pakistan’s evolving strategic posture lies in aligning its external and internal policies around a single principle: stability through engagement, not conflict and coercion.

This principle must begin with Pakistan’s immediate neighbourhood.

With India, relations remain trapped in a cycle of suspicion, retaliation, and periodic crisis. With Afghanistan, mistrust persists despite deep cultural, historical, and economic........

© The Friday Times