This is the third joy that has descended as if it were a commentary on Surah Ar-Rahman: “So which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?” The first joy had descended years ago. We had just reached the hostel from the university bus when we learned that Pakistan had conducted nuclear tests. After that, nothing else mattered. We lost track of where our books went and where we ourselves wandered off. The hostel was in Blue Area, and everyone started moving toward D-Chowk. A huge crowd had already gathered there. Much time has passed, so some things I remember and some I have forgotten. But I have not forgotten that it was a day of Eid. It was a joy that even today remains part of my being. It has never left me. The second joy descended a few months ago when Pakistan, in Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos, demolished the entire edifice of Hindutva fascism. What a joy it was. What an ecstasy. It was a new Pakistan that we were witnessing. There had always been a wish in the heart that such a moment might one day come to us, but looking at ground realities, it did not seem that this wish would be fulfilled in our lifetime. This sense of futility clung to our existence that perhaps we would pass this longing on to the next generation, and maybe such a moment would descend upon them and grant them fulfillment. But this moment came to us. Like answered prayers, it filled us with exhilaration. Such a moment had never before descended upon this land. In a single watch of the day, the entire image of Pakistan had changed. It felt like a dream, as if one dozes off in a desert and sees lush green fields in a dream. As if one sits beside a dry well and suddenly springs begin to gush forth. The Field Marshal had said: in this war, the help of Allah descended, and we witnessed it descend. He was the commander on the battlefield, but the truth is that even we, sitting in our homes, felt the descent of divine help. This moment too felt like a reflection of Surah Rahman: “So which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?” Now the third joy has descended. It has come like rain over barren deserts, like relief to a sick person. At this moment, across the world, Pakistan is being praised. The ceasefire between Iran and the United States is an extraordinary diplomatic success for Pakistan. If Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos was the day of Pakistan’s military triumph, then this ceasefire is the declaration of its diplomatic victory. Now only the test of the economy remains. If that stage too is passed with success, then Pakistan’s future will be like the galaxies. This economic challenge is certainly not easy, but then which of the previous three challenges were easy? The........

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