The country that was written off is now sitting at the most consequential table in the world.
Twelve months ago, Pakistan was barely on speaking terms with Washington. Today, its military chief is lunching alone with the American president, its foreign minister is hosting regional counterparts to negotiate an end to a war in Iran, and the country that once harbored Osama bin Laden is being described by Donald Trump as home to his "favourite field marshal." The turnaround is one of the more striking diplomatic reversals in recent memory.
The architect of this transformation is Field Marshal Asim Munir, the head of Pakistan's military and, in practical terms, the most powerful figure in the country. Even during periods of elected civilian government, Pakistan's army has long held the real levers of authority — a reality Trump appears to have acknowledged when he received Munir at the White House without any civilian Pakistani leadership present. It was the first time a sitting American president had done so, and the symbolism was not lost on anyone watching.
The road to this moment was built on a series of calculated moves. In March of last year, Pakistani authorities helped capture a suspect connected to the 2021 bombing at Kabul's airport, an attack that killed 170 Afghans and 13 American soldiers. Trump publicly thanked Pakistan, and intelligence cooperation between the two countries resumed. Former ambassador Maleeha Lodhi described that moment as critical in reversing what had been decades of accumulated mistrust. Then came the handover to U.S. authorities of an Islamic State operative accused of killing American troops — another gesture that landed well in Washington.
A 90-hour military clash with India in May added an unexpected dimension to Pakistan's rehabilitation. Islamabad moved quickly to engage American diplomats in de-escalation efforts, and both Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. The foreign office framed the episode as proof of Pakistani restraint and competence — the country had, officials said, downed Indian fighter jets while choosing not to escalate further. Whether or not that framing is accepted universally, it gave Pakistan a story to tell about itself.
Munir has since become a fixture in the rooms where things happen. He was the only serving military chief at Davos this year, where sources say he held further conversations with Trump. Vice President JD Vance has spoken with him multiple times since the Iran conflict began, and as recently as last Tuesday, Vance was communicating through Pakistani intermediaries about the possibility of a ceasefire — signaling that Trump would consider one if certain conditions were met. Sharif, for his part, has met repeatedly with Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. On Sunday, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar brought together his counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt in Islamabad for talks centered on ending the Iran war.
The diplomatic scaffolding has been reinforced with economic and commercial arrangements. Pakistan signed a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia last year. Discussions with Washington have touched on investment opportunities and a cryptocurrency deal linked to a Trump family business. The mixture of geopolitical positioning and transactional deal-making reflects a deliberate strategy — what one analyst called a charm offensive aimed at balancing relationships with the United States, China, and the Gulf states simultaneously.
Not everyone is pleased. In India, the shift has provoked open frustration. Opposition lawmaker Shashi Tharoor put it plainly: he had been urging his own government for weeks to take a leading role in Middle East peacemaking, and instead it is Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey who are holding the talks. India, which has historically enjoyed the higher diplomatic profile of the two rivals, now risks being sidelined in a region where it has significant interests.
Back in Pakistan, the risks are real and not easily papered over by diplomatic momentum. The economy remains fragile — it came close to sovereign default before a hard-won IMF deal roughly eighteen months ago, and the underlying conditions have not dramatically improved. The defence pact with Saudi Arabia, a Sunni power, could inflame Pakistan's Shia community, the second-largest in the world after Iran itself. And Pakistan is simultaneously managing a deteriorating conflict with Afghanistan, which intensified just days before the United States and Israel struck Tehran.
Analysts are careful not to overstate how durable this moment is. The civil-military alliance between Munir and Sharif has created an unusual window of coherent foreign policy, but Pakistan will need more than diplomatic momentum to sustain its new standing. Overplaying the mediator role, one analyst warned, could prove damaging if the country misjudges the boundaries of its influence. For now, though, the country that was written off not long ago is sitting at the table — and the table is one of the most consequential in the world.
Notable Quotes
If there is one factor above all that has fuelled the widening of diplomatic opportunity for Pakistan, it is the trust and symbiosis between the field marshal and prime minister.— Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey have done it. Good luck to them — but India gets no credit while Pakistan is holding the peace talks.— Shashi Tharoor, Indian opposition lawmaker
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
A year ago Pakistan was essentially frozen out of serious diplomacy. What actually changed?
The short answer is Asim Munir. He understood that Pakistan needed to offer something concrete to Washington, not just reassurances. Helping capture the Kabul airport bombing suspect was the first real proof of concept.
Why did that particular act matter so much?
Because it touched an American wound directly — thirteen U.S. soldiers died in that attack. When Pakistan delivered a suspect, Trump responded publicly and warmly. That public thanks reopened a channel that had been closed for years.
The White House lunch without civilian leadership present — what does that actually signal?
It signals that Trump's team read Pakistan's internal structure accurately. The military runs the country in any meaningful sense. Receiving Munir alone was a way of saying: we know who we're really dealing with, and we're fine with it.
Is there something uncomfortable about that acknowledgment?
Deeply. It essentially ratifies a system where elected civilian government is subordinate to the army. But Washington has made that calculation before with other partners, and it's making it again here.
What's the Iran angle? How does Pakistan fit into that conflict as a mediator?
Geography and relationships. Pakistan has ties to Saudi Arabia, which is aligned against Iran, but also shares a long border and significant cultural connections with Iran. It can carry messages that neither side would accept directly from the other.
And the risk of that position?
It's enormous. The Saudi defence pact could drag Pakistan into a war it cannot afford, and its own Shia population — one of the largest in the world — would not be neutral observers if that happened.
India's frustration seems genuine. Is Pakistan actually displacing India in regional diplomacy?
In this specific moment, yes. India has been cautious and quiet on the Iran conflict, and that caution has created space. Pakistan walked into it. Whether that lasts depends entirely on whether the mediation produces anything real.
What's the thing most likely to unravel all of this?
The economy. Diplomatic credibility built on a fragile financial foundation is inherently temporary. If Pakistan can't stabilize its own house, the charm offensive runs out of fuel.