The Task At Hand

Publishing date: 04 February 2026

Published in: The Nation

Pakistan has steadily grown into the role of a regional power broker, built on past military and strategic successes and reinforced by increasingly confident diplomacy that has strengthened its bilateral relationships. Within Pakistan, this improvement in international standing and projection of influence has been welcomed—and rightly so.

But recognition alone is not enough. Power brokers are ultimately judged not by how they are perceived, but by how they act when influence must be exercised. For Pakistan, that moment has now arrived in the form of the first major regional crisis it is expected to help navigate.

Alongside Egypt and Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE have been invited to participate in talks aimed at de-escalating tensions between the United States and Iran and finding a solution acceptable to all sides. The task before Pakistan’s foreign policy establishment is straightforward in principle, if difficult in execution: avert war at all costs.

Another US-led war on yet another eastern frontier is not something Pakistani society can absorb. The broader regional consequences would be catastrophic, extending from the people of Iran to the already devastated population of Palestine. While Pakistan is not a direct party to the confrontation, the emerging consensus between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey offers a rare opportunity to project restraint, unity, and credible mediation.

This balance is particularly delicate for Pakistan. It has supported Iran’s position through diplomatic engagement and limited economic and structural cooperation, while simultaneously maintaining close ties with the Gulf states and sharing a defence relationship with one of them. Should hostilities spill over to US military bases in the Gulf, Pakistan could be pulled into the conflict regardless of its intentions.

Tensions remain dangerously high. The spark that ignites a wider war may already be within reach. This is precisely the moment for Pakistan to translate stature into statesmanship.