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American scholar, the precocious Stephen P. Cohen, had erstwhile pontificated that Pakistan often finds itself successful a spot of governmental occurrence due to the fact that it negotiates with the satellite by putting a weapon to its ain head. While this has been proven existent galore a time, the caller victories, some with the United States and the little talked about, West Asia, person travel arsenic a boon for the state’s present all-encompassing and all-powerful Army chief, Asim Munir.
Field Marshal Munir’s grasp connected powerfulness has travel astatine a infinitesimal erstwhile geopolitical successes for Islamabad are not coming done overmuch of a design, but by mode of geopolitical churns plaguing the planetary bid and its penchant to play the communicative crippled to the hilt, considering that Pakistan has small to suffer to statesman with. Nonetheless, Field Marshal Munir being called upon arsenic “my favourite Field Marshal” by U.S. President Donald Trump, a self-christened subject honour fixed to Field Marshal Munir by himself, Pakistan nominating Mr. Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his perceived relation of stopping a full-blown India-Pakistan warfare pursuing Operation Sindoor, and besides powerfully supporting the Gulf’s positions connected Gaza, person brought Pakistan nether an unexpected spotlight. “Much of our problems emanate from Pakistan Army,” India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had precocious reiterated.
Agreement with Saudi Arabia
The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA), signed betwixt Pakistan and Saudi Arabia successful September 2025, was different triumph of cognition for Pakistan, and an aboriginal motion of occurrence for Field Marshal Munir. Over the past fewer months, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s debased nationalist illustration and photo-op appearances during planetary visits person showcased different displacement from civilian to military. For Gulf powers specified arsenic Saudi Arabia, a unchangeable Pakistan is abruptly of effect some from a utilitarian position of its subject spot and its imaginable to proviso foot-soldiers for enactment that Arab armies themselves would not privation to do. This includes sizeable information successful immoderate benignant of planetary bid unit successful Gaza.
While the Gaza warfare has been on-going since 2023, its broader implications and the dispersed of Israel’s subject campaigns crossed the region, from Yemen against the Houthis to straight targeting Iranian atomic facilities wrong the state on with the Americans, reshaped however Arab powers person viewed determination information till date. The constituent of nary instrumentality besides came successful September 2025 erstwhile Israeli missiles, reportedly launched from the Red Sea region, targeted a compound successful Doha, Qatar, lodging Hamas’s governmental leadership. The onslaught ended up sidesplitting a Qatari information official. Prior to this, Qatar was besides deed by Iran, successful effect to U.S. airstrikes arsenic Tehran targeted the U.S.’s largest subject installation successful the region, the Al Udeid aerial base. In short, contempt their ain interior disagreements, Arab states person since moved towards a much corporate ideation of defence, speechmaking the beverage leaves that the U.S. subject whitethorn not travel to their assistance going forward.
The past
Previously, Pakistan had spent immoderate clip connected the peripheries of West Asian diplomacy. On much than 1 occasion, the United Arab Emirates has suspended issuing of visas to Pakistani nationals connected information grounds. Riyadh’s loans to Islamabad person travel with strict conditions with narration to the country’s IMF bailouts. In 2015, Pakistan had refused to nonstop its troops to enactment successful the Saudi run successful Yemen against the Houthis fearing a fracture of relations with Iran, leaving a caller and incoming Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman successful the lurch. In 2019, past Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj was invited to talk astatine the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation conscionable successful Abu Dhabi, forcing Pakistan to lodge a protestation and signifier a walkout. Ms. Swaraj took a beardown presumption against coercion successful her speech, aimed astatine Pakistan without naming it, but besides appealing to a increasing anti-extremism posture being taken by Arab powers themselves. New Delhi hosting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman successful 2019 for a authorities visit, astatine the tallness of the Khashoggi issue, was a bargain in, supporting these transformative changes successful the cradle of Islamic ideology and theology.
The roadworthy ahead
But successful 2025, Pakistan has recovered its mode backmost into West Asia’s bully graces and Field Marshal Munir has been pivotal to this plan by mode of taking vantage of prevailing geopolitical headwinds to merit his country’s value successful backing a revised information architecture for Arab powers. Finally, determination is nary expansive strategy astatine play for Field Marshal Munir. He has consolidated abject powerfulness astatine a clip erstwhile strategical crevasses successful planetary and West Asian information bid are palpable. However, opportunism has a support beingness and does not warrant semipermanent dividends. Pakistan’s halfway economical and governmental situation points stay intact and volition not beryllium overshadowed contempt the victories of narratives it is presently clocking. For now, Pakistan subject has utilitarian benefits for caller West Asian information demands, but ideologically, the proverbial weapon connected its ain caput remains a semipermanent occupation internationally.
Kabir Taneja is Deputy Director and Middle East Fellow, Strategic Studies, Observer Research Foundation
