Few events in recent memory have stirred as much debate as the recent Saudi–Pakistan agreement. Mainstream media, social media and private conversations were abuzz, with opinions swinging between two extremes.

For some, the deal is a panacea for all ills, a jingoistic triumph that promises to transform Pakistan overnight. For others, it is nothing less than a poison pill – an outright sellout, a surrender of sovereignty dressed up as partnership. As is so often the case in matters of statecraft, the truth lies somewhere in between. Only the protagonists of the deal are fully privy to its details, which makes our responsibility as citizens even greater: not to indulge in wild speculation but to anchor our outlook in measured optimism, tempered by realism.

Both euphoria and despair are dangerous lenses. To celebrate this deal as though it were a magic elixir is to set ourselves up for disappointment. To condemn it outright as betrayal is to undermine morale and national confidence without a sufficient basis. Pakistan has long struggled with this tendency to swing between extremes, treating every event as either salvation or collapse. A mature nation learns to withhold judgment until results unfold.

Yet one cannot deny the extraordinary speed and decisiveness with which Pakistan has seized this geopolitical opening. Pakistan’s decisive victory in the 2025 air battle with India was a defining moment. For the first time in decades,........

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