‘Politics is the art of possible, the attainable – the art of the next best’, said the Iron Chancellor Otto Von Bismark renowned for his masterful and often manipulative diplomacy. A past master of Realpolitik,” he argued that politics is not about what should be done, but what can be achieved given the circumstances. In the words of Henry Kissinger, ‘Realpolitik for Bismarck depended on flexibility and on the ability to exploit every available option without the constraint of ideology’. We may have seen the application of the Bismarckian model of diplomacy by the duo from Pakistan on the world stage to achieve the next best thing to peace – a chance at it through a tangible ceasefire between the USA and the Islamic Republic of Iran. While the world held its breath and its known leaders held their tongues, the duo of our Field Marshal and Prime Minister worked pragmatically to achieve the goal of peace, working on three cardinal principles borrowed from the Iron Chancellor, i.e., Realpolitik, attainable and the next best. While attainable calls to focus on practical, realistic outcomes rather than impossible, idealistic goals, the next best requires that if the ideal goal is unattainable, the players must accept the “next best” option to make progress. The display of diplomacy from Pakistan during the critical phase leading to total war between the US and Iran has been an ideal display of pragmatism. It involved compromises and taking incremental steps towards a singular goal, rather than waiting for perfect conditions or total peace, which ensured progress towards achieving peace in a very complex environment.
While the world held its breath and its known leaders held their tongues, the duo of our Field Marshal and Prime Minister worked pragmatically to achieve the goal of peace, working on three cardinal principles borrowed from the Iron Chancellor, i.e., Realpolitik, attainable and the next best.
The conflict, which erupted on February 28, 2026, has already claimed countless lives in conflict zones and upended global markets, thus further affecting every household across the globe. While the USA, seemingly under an increased Israeli influence, pursued a policy of “maximum pressure,” the resulting Iranian retaliation across the Middle East, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, pushed oil prices to the brink of collapse. Conventional forums and powers, including the European Union, despite their clear lack of support signalling, failed to stem the tide in this conflict. In this vacuum of direct communication, Field Marshal Asim Munir emerged as a unique interlocutor. Leveraging a personal rapport with President Trump on one hand, who famously called him his “favourite field marshal” – The Field Marshal navigated the deep distrust between Washington and Tehran, besides taking along the engulfed GCC countries across the fog of war to secure a reprieve.
While the world hails Pakistan as a mediator, its role was not one of a neutral observer merely acting as a go-between. Hemmed in by its own security challenges and a 909 km border with Iran, besides deep economic and energy ties with GCC countries on one hand, vis-à-vis a renewed strategic partnership with the USA, de-escalation remained the primary option for Islamabad. While Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif remained the face of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts, the real brains and strategy came from the Field Marshal. Whose diplomacy was a calculated exercise in Realpolitik, balancing a “Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement” with Saudi Arabia while maintaining its status as a “bridge builder” for Iran. Since its inception, this has been the optimal utilisation of its Geo-strategic currency by Pakistan.
The efforts of this complementary diplomatic duo are an account of the most singular and providential strategic partnership to grace the Orient in the modern age – the Right Honourable Shahbaz Sharif and the gallant Field Marshal Asim Munir-and their most dexterous last-minute mediation in the calamitous dispute between the American superpower of today and the Clerics of Qom holding the reins of the Persian throne. In the Prime Minister, we find a seasoned statesman of the most industrious character, possessed of a “can-do” spirit and who believes in building personal relations based on respect. Beside him stands the Field Marshal, a soldier of profound sagacity and martial bearing, whose actions are always guided by calculated stratagem while his very presence commands a silence in the councils of war. They move as a complementing pair with a singular, harmonious rhythm towards shared goals. Thus, by their combined industry – one providing the civil legitimacy, the other the martial steel and stratagem -the duo have averted a Great War. They have shown that even a middle power, when led by men of such “complementing” temperament, may act as arbiters of empires. It is a most edifying spectacle to witness: the civilian and the soldier, walking hand-in-hand upon the global stage, proving that in the face of certain ruin, a well-placed and trusted word is more formidable than bayonets, bullets and most bullies.
Their triumph, the “Islamabad Accord,” is a testament to the creed that “Politics is the art of the possible.” They did not seek to solve the ancient grievances in a single afternoon; rather, they sought the “attainable”-a ceasefire, a breath of air, a moment for the hot-blooded to cool their tempers. They understood the Victorian dictum, as Lord Palmerston once observed, that a nation has no eternal allies and no perpetual enemies, only eternal and perpetual interests, which they have served to our eternal gratitude.
The writer is a practising barrister at Islamabad with an interest in history and International law. He can be reached at barristerazam165 @gmail.com