✍️ “Pakistan has turned from the world’s scapegoat into the world’s stabilizer.”
A Rebuttal to Nirupama Rao’s “For India, the Lesson Is: Don’t Fret Over the Pakistan Puppet Show”
(Published in The Indian Express, October 2025)
1. “The White House meeting is just optics.”
Reality: It was recognition.
On Day One of his return to the Oval Office, President Donald Trump, in his unofficial State of the Union address, explicitly thanked Pakistan for its “decisive contribution in eradicating ISIS remnants on the northern border with Afghanistan.”
That acknowledgment erased a decade of propaganda portraying Pakistan as a hub of terrorism.
Pakistan is no longer accused; it is now acknowledged as the centre of regional stabilization.
⚔️ 2. “America’s embrace reflects short-term need.”
Reality: Every alliance begins with necessity; Pakistan converted it into permanence.
After Operation Sindhu, Islamabad became the only power able to coordinate counter-terror operations in Afghanistan, share intelligence with CENTCOM, maintain de-escalation with Iran, and secure over-flight corridors for allied forces.
CENTCOM’s Gen. Karelia publicly praised Pakistan’s “professional contribution.”
Short-term? Hardly. This is structural interdependence.
☢️ 3. “The generals are being re-empowered.”
Reality: They are being re-defined as stabilizers, not usurpers.
Gen. Asim Munir has institutionalised military diplomacy, not martial law.
The civil–military balance now projects Pakistan as a coherent security state, not a fractured polity.
India mistakes discipline for dictatorship.
️ 4. “Why is Washington reopening this lane?”
Reality: Because Pakistan’s lane is the only viable highway left.
Between a hostile Iran, an unstable Afghanistan, and an overstretched CENTCOM, Pakistan provides the only reliable pivot of logistics, deterrence, and nuclear assurance.
It isn’t reopening — it is re-routing through Islamabad.
⚖️ 5. “Pakistan is a pawn in U.S.–Saudi games.”
Reality: Pakistan is the kingmaker in the new Islamic defence equation.
The Saudi–Pakistan Mutual Defence Pact, signed post-Sindhu, declares:
“An attack on one shall be considered an attack on both.”
This parity would have been unthinkable when Modi flaunted the King Abdul Aziz Medal.
Today Riyadh trains its pilots in Pakistan, stations 50 000 joint troops, and integrates air-defence command with Pakistan’s.
That is recognition, not charity.
6. “The rare-earth deal is opportunism.”
Reality: It is economic sovereignty.
The US $500 million rare-earth memorandum is part of Pakistan’s pivot to clean-tech supply chains.
When India exports iron ore, it calls it trade; when Pakistan partners in rare-earth refining, Delhi cries “elite capture.”
That is not analysis — it is envy.
7. “Pakistan is hedging between China and the U.S.”
Reality: That is called strategic balance.
Pakistan simultaneously anchors CPEC and collaborates with Washington on high-tech and finance.
India buys Russian oil while courting QUAD — yet lectures others on alignment purity?
Hypocrisy, thy name is insecurity.
8. “America’s focus is shifting to Asia-Pacific, not Indo-Pacific.”
Reality: That shift benefits Pakistan.
The “Indo-Pacific” elevated India as China’s counterweight — and failed.
“Asia-Pacific” restores Pakistan’s relevance as the corridor linking the Gulf, Central Asia, and ASEAN.
With Malaysia now joining the Group of 8 Islamic Peace Bloc, Pakistan stands positioned in both CENTCOM and Asia-Pacific theatres.
India’s “centrality” is fading.
9. “Pakistan’s role is transactional.”
Reality: It is transformational diplomacy.
Pakistan mediated between Washington and Tehran before the Iran strikes, helping extract 60 %-enriched uranium to prevent civilian radiation — a humanitarian act of statecraft.
This turned Pakistan from spoiler to saviour, respected simultaneously by Tehran, Riyadh, and Washington.
10. “For India, the lesson is: don’t be distracted.”
Reality: India is distracted — by Pakistan’s return to parity.
While Modi collects medals, Pakistan collects alliances.
While Delhi hosts summits, Islamabad brokers coalitions.
From Operation Sindhu to Trump’s 20-Point Peace Plan, Pakistan has moved from reaction to orchestration — the hinge of CENTCOM, OIC, and ASEAN diplomacy.
This is no puppet show; it is the re-emergence of the pivotal state.
Final Word
For thirteen years, India marketed a myth: that Pakistan was isolated and imploding.
Then, in one diplomatic cycle, Pakistan rewrote the script.
• Operation Sindhu stabilized the homeland.
• Trump’s acknowledgment internationalized Pakistan’s relevance.
• The Saudi Pact secured parity.
• CENTCOM’s praise sealed indispensability.
So let New Delhi sneer if it must.
The world has moved on — and Pakistan now stands where geography meets strategy and where resilience becomes relevant.
Iqbal Latif
October 2025