“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 interconnections. Iran, though less directly contentious, remains embedded in a volatile regional environment. In each case, the absence of sustained dialogue has allowed non-state actors and hardened narratives to define the relationship.

A meaningful regional reset requires a clear and mutual commitment: the non-use of militant proxies as instruments of state policy.

Pakistan has an opportunity to choose differently and to make peace not an event, but a policy

Pakistan has an opportunity to choose differently and to make peace not an event, but a policy

This is not merely a moral proposition; it is a strategic necessity. The use of such groups has, over time, eroded the authority of states themselves, creating forces that outgrow their original purpose and often turn inward.

Pakistan has learned this at great cost. Militancy has not remained confined to borders; it has seeped inward, corroding institutions and society alike. The past few years have witnessed a discernible shift: action against groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, ISIS affiliates, and sectarian outfits, alongside a visible reduction in cross-border militancy. These are not cosmetic adjustments; they signal a policy transition that deserves recognition.

This shift must be acknowledged—particularly by India, where sections of the political spectrum remain unwilling to see change through the prism of entrenched narratives.

A collective, verifiable renunciation of proxy warfare across the region would mark a decisive break from the past and lay the foundation for long-term stability.

But peace cannot rest on security assurances alone. It must be anchored in economic logic.

The near-total absence of trade between Pakistan and India is one of the great economic paradoxes of our time. Trade disruptions with Afghanistan have harmed both economies, while limited engagement with Iran has constrained natural trade. Sealing the Pakistan–Afghanistan border to trade is, in effect, akin to choking a landlocked economy’s lifeline—an act that ultimately harms regional connectivity and Pakistan’s own access to Central Asian markets.

At a time when regional blocs elsewhere are deepening integration, South and West Asia remain fragmented, trading less with each other than with distant markets.

This is neither sustainable nor rational.

Opening trade routes among Pakistan, India, Iran, and Afghanistan would do more than boost growth. It would create constituencies for peace. Trade has its own logic: it raises the cost of conflict and embeds stability in everyday economic life. Trucks crossing borders, energy pipelines linking grids, and markets dependent on each other’s goods transform borders from lines of division into corridors of exchange.

Without this economic underpinning, all talk of peace will remain cosmetic.

Yet Pakistan’s credibility abroad ultimately rests on coherence at home.

A country cannot convincingly advocate peace in its neighbourhood while grappling with unresolved tensions within its own borders. Regional diplomacy must therefore be matched by internal reconciliation.

In Balochistan and parts of the Pashtun belt, cycles of mistrust, underdevelopment, and political exclusion have created conditions where conflict perpetuates itself. A purely security-driven approach has reached its limits. It may contain symptoms, but it cannot resolve causes.

What is required is a political strategy: sustained dialogue, equitable resource sharing, economic inclusion, and a genuine willingness to address longstanding grievances.

Reaching out to Baloch and Pashtun stakeholders across the political spectrum must not be seen as a concession, but as an investment in national cohesion. A negotiated peace, rooted in dignity and development, would strengthen not only these regions but also Pakistan’s credibility as a proponent of peace beyond its borders.

Peace, in this sense, is indivisible.

It cannot be pursued across borders while deferred within them. Nor can it be sustained through security measures alone, without the parallel architecture of political inclusion and economic cooperation.

Pakistan stands today at a rare juncture. It has demonstrated its capacity to facilitate dialogue between global adversaries. The challenge now is to extend that instinct into a coherent strategy, linking regional peace with internal stability.

This will require political courage, consistency, and a willingness to move beyond entrenched positions. It will demand reciprocity from neighbours and introspection at home.

But the alternative is already familiar: recurring crises abroad and unresolved fault lines within.

Pakistan has an opportunity to choose differently and to make peace not an event, but a policy.

© The Friday Times