In the aftermath of World War II and the establishment of the United Nations, globalization emerged as a transformative force shaping global trade. It facilitated increased interdependence among nations, resulting in economic integration and growth. However, recent developments signal a significant shift in this trend. The globalization framework is now under strain, particularly due to protectionist trade policies-most notably those initiated by the United States. In response, major economic powers such as China have implemented retaliatory tariffs. These measures have ushered in a new era of trade tension, where the ultimate burden falls disproportionately on developing countries, including Pakistan. At the center of this confrontation are the United States and China, two economic giants engaged in an ongoing trade war. While their economies are deeply interlinked, both have imposed tariffs on each other’s goods in attempts to leverage competitive advantages. These policies have led to increased costs for many manufactured goods, especially in sectors like information technology and computer-based services. Consequently, global prices have surged-exemplified by products such as the iPhone, which reportedly rose from $1,000 to over $2,300. This escalation severely limits access to technology for developing nations and weakens their economic competitiveness. Pakistan, like many developing nations, finds itself caught in this geopolitical and economic crossfire. The country faces challenges on multiple fronts. Firstly, there is a real threat of losing its Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status with the United States, one of the few countries where Pakistan currently enjoys a favorable trade balance. Secondly, as global competition intensifies, Pakistan risks being outpaced by other nations offering more competitive prices and higher-quality goods, especially in key export sectors. Historically, trade routes and economic dominance have been central motives behind many conflicts. While globalization initially replaced military conflicts with economic competition, the current trend of trade wars is a return to aggressive economic nationalism, albeit in a modern form. For countries like Pakistan, this “war” is not merely about tariffs and trade balances; it represents a challenge to economic sovereignty and long-term development. While the world rapidly transitions into the era of artificial intelligence and digital governance, Pakistan is still struggling to equip its universities with state-of-the-art facilities. To navigate these turbulent waters, Pakistan must act decisively. The country must invest in upgrading its industrial and manufacturing capacities to meet international standards. This includes embracing advanced technologies, enhancing technical education, and modernizing infrastructure. One critical sector with immense potential is agriculture. With the right investment in research, mechanization, and quality assurance, Pakistan can position itself as a global food supplier. However, this can only be realized if agricultural outputs meet rigorous international quality standards. The same would be the case with the products from China although these products may be far cheaper than the products from USA. So, Pakistan will have to vigorously work with China to import as many electronic related equipment and tools and many other products to Pakistan to maintain its trade balance. But it may be difficult just to rely on one country for trade because it can cause slowdown in the trade, profit, earnings of the already cash strapped and straight jacketed Pakistan. Furthermore, Pakistan’s failure to keep pace with technological advancements is a major hurdle. While the world rapidly transitions into the era of artificial intelligence and digital governance, Pakistan is still struggling to equip its universities with state-of-the-art facilities and curricula in information technology. This technological lag poses a serious threat to the country’s ability to compete in the global market, particularly in the digital economy. For example, the word has advanced a lot on information technology and has entered into the age of artificial intelligence, while we are still modernizing our universities to teach our young ones information technology and even that is not state-of-the-art education and so lagging behind number of years in terms of technical capital as well as the laboratories. Pakistan needs to think in proactive ways so that our policymakers may be able to realize our potentials and the requirements of upcoming times where these potentials could be harnessed. If we can do so we can stand with the world and so the competition would be easier otherwise already lagging by 50 years, we would be even lagging by 100 years from that world which we aspire to reach. The vision of a “Digital Pakistan” can only be achieved through comprehensive policy reforms, significant investment in human capital, and a strategic overhaul of the national education and innovation systems. Without these changes, Pakistan risks falling even further behind-potentially by a century-while the rest of the world accelerates forward. The writer is a professor of English at Government Emerson University, Multan. He can be reached at zeadogar@ hotmail.com and Tweets @Profzee