As the anniversary of the Pahalgam attack approaches where Pakistan supported terrorists killed 26 tourists only on the basis of religion in India’s Kashmir region, Pakistan finds itself performing a familiar double act. On one stage, it presents itself as a responsible mediator in one of the most dangerous crises in the Middle East, attempting to broker dialogue between Iran and the United States. On another, it remains entangled in the unresolved shadow of cross-border militancy in Kashmir, where India continues to hold it accountable for the 2025 killings in Pahalgam. The contradiction is structural.

Pakistan’s emergence as a broker in the Iran crisis, much as a key US partner in the Bush led War against terror 25 years ago, has been greeted in some quarters with great skepticism. Islamabad has hosted talks, facilitated backchannel communication, and even helped secure a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. Asim Munir, the country’s army chief, has been at the centre of this effort, leveraging ties across Washington, Riyadh and Tehran to position Pakistan as a conduit of dialogue walking a delicate balance, one day among the faithful Sunni’s another with the Chinese.

Yet the very structure of this mediation reveals its limits. Pakistan is not an impartial actor. It is a state balancing incompatible strategic dependencies. First given its systemic hate for Israel, the anti-semitism deobandi madrassa’s and other sects such as Tehreek e Labbaik have spread in the country, among the common man and the elite. In its quest to achieve leadership of........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)